Don't Fear The Reaper
by SynthaRoboto
Summary: Terrible at summaries. M for language, death, and dark themes.
1. Chapter 1

There is a scrapyard on the Other Railway, where a rather infamous diesel works. Known across the land as the grim reaper, she is one of two remaining class 42's, the other being Diesel 10. While her name is Daniella, she earned her nickname due to her line of work. You see, Daniella works in a scrapyard where broken down diesel shunters are sent to spend their last days, and eventually cut up. Sometimes, she is sent to tow a broken engine to the scrapyard, and once an engine is taken by her, they never return.

Most other diesels are terrified of her, due to her frightening appearance. While the claw she is fitted with is designed specifically for tearing things to pieces, her face and sides were heavily damaged in an accident several years ago. An accident that Daniella barely survived, as she had caught fire, and nearly half of her face had been torn off. While that side of her face had been successfully reattached, she is unable to move it. Not only that, but it is held in place by a crisscross of welded-on metal bars, and an empty eye socket is covered by a metal patch.

Between her line of work, menacing appearance, and notoriously short temper, Daniella earned the title "Grim Reaper" and became feared not only on the Other railway, but all the way to other parts of the mainland, and even on Sodor.

Many rumors had spread about her, and none of them were nice. Many engines believe that she takes pleasure in tearing smaller diesels apart with her claw. Others believe that seeing her, or hearing her horn, will bring misfortune Some even believe that she will deliberately hunt down other engines and kill them for reasons unknown.

Thankfully, none of these rumors are true While Daniella is brash, rude, and quick-tempered, she is by no means cruel or evil. Though no one ever wanted to face the infamous Reaper, an unfortunate shunter by the name of Paul was about to.

You see, Paul was very worn out and sickly, and had spent most of the last two months in the works. His constant breakdowns and need for major repairs had cost his owner too much money, and his owner could no longer afford to continue attempting to have such an unreliable engine repaired.

Paul knew he was going to be scrapped; however, he was fully expecting to be sent to a different scrapyard. He did not know those plans had changed, and as he sat on a siding, waiting to be taken on his final journey; he heard a horn in the distance that sent chills to his very core.

Paul became very frightened, as that was unmistakably the Grim Reaper's horn. "OK, OK, maybe she's going to pick up someone else. I'm not supposed to go to _that_ scrapyard," he said in an attempt to calm himself. However, the horn sounded again, this time closer, and an engine's light came into view in the distance.

"Maybe that's another engine!" he said, but his attempts to calm himself failed horribly as the thing he feared most approached. For now, he could see the light reflecting off a shiny, four-pronged claw. Only one engine had an attachment like that.

Scared out of his mind, Paul shut his eyes tightly, awaiting his doom. His growing sense of dread worsened as the purr of the Reaper's motor drew nearer, and her bright headlamps shone through his eyelids. He expected to feel the sharp prongs dig into him and rip him to pieces, and to hear her laugh at his pain. However, that never happened. Instead, he was coupled up to her, and they began to move. When the Reaper finally spoke, it was certainly not what he had expected:

"Whoops, my bad! Here, lemme dim this light for ya. There, you can open your eyes now."

Though he was still terrified, Paul opened his eyes, for he didn't want to find out what would happen if he didn't do as he was asked. With her headlamps dimmed, and being so close to him, Paul could see every detail on the Reaper's face. The crack that ran from the top of her forehead, all the way to the bottom near the corner; the bars that held it together, which were clearly embedded deep into her face, looked like they were very painful. Her one eye stared right at him, the color of rust and sunken deep into its socket.

Her expression unreadable, she spoke again: "I'm guessing you've heard of me?"

"Y-Yes…" Paul stammered, "You're—you're—the—the—"

"Grim reaper," the big engine finished for him, and Paul gulped in fright.

"My name's Daniella," she said, "I won't hurt you, lil one."

"You—you won't?" Paul stammered.

"Nah that's the cutters' job. I usually gotta clean up the mess they leave Aw, crap, me and my big mouth! Look, the cutters won't get to you 'til you're already dead and gone, however long that takes—what?" Daniella said, noticing the mortified expression on Paul's face.

"How can you talk about—that—like it's nothing?" Paul said.

"What, about scrappin' and death? I've seen so much I kinda got used to it," Daniella replied.

Paul remained silent for the rest of the trip. While the Reaper wasn't nearly as frightening to him now, she was certainly morbid, and at the time, he didn't need to be reminded that he was going to die.

Repeatedly.

In graphic detail.

And that was exactly what Daniella ended up doing, for nearly an hour, before she finally seemed to take the hint.

"Oops, guess I got a little carried away," Daniella said, "well, we're here. Oh. That's not a good thing…not for you, anyway…" she trailed off as she pulled him into the scrapyard.

It was a truly frightening place, surrounded by an old wrought-iron fence, which only added to the eerie atmosphere. However, what was in the scrapyard was far worse than any creepy old fence could ever be.

Bits and pieces of scrap metal were haphazardly piled everywhere, some of which were obviously parts of cut-up engines. Daniella took Paul further in, past the torn-up bits and pieces, and put him on a siding, where she was uncoupled. Sitting on the tracks to his right were two other small shunters, and on the ground to his left was another that had long since had its wheels removed. At first glance, he couldn't tell if they were sleeping or dead, and the full realization that this was going to happen to him hit him like a ton of bricks.

As Daniella backed away, Paul began to cry in despair. Here he was, doomed to rot in this godforsaken hellhole until he was either dismantled or ended up completely rusted out.

"Relax," a soft, raspy voice spoke, and Paul saw that it was one of the engines that sat to his right. "You were just brought here, weren't you? I'm guessing you've heard the rumors about Miss Dani...ha, who hasn't?" Upon receiving a terrified look in response, he continued: "it's not true. None of them are true. Nothing but tall tales to scare the crap out of anyone who hears them. Miss Dani's no monster. She's no killer either. She knows good and well she can't save us, but she protects us. You have nothing to fear from her."

"Are you sure? I mean, she isn't what I expected, but she's so…" Paul trailed off.

"Morbid? Look at what she has to live with. The only friends she ever makes are here, and nearly at the end of their lives. Everyone out there is too scared of her to approach her or even say hello. If any of those rumors were true, I wouldn't be speaking to you right now. Name's Alan, by the way."

"Paul. Nice to meet you...I guess,"

"That's Shawn, the one with no wheels," Alan said with a hint of sadness in his voice. "Cutters got to him, hasn't been the same since. Miss Dani was not happy at all. She nearly killed one of 'em. Her driver's somethin' fierce too. Let's just say those guys won't be having any kids," said Alan.

"But…isn't that their job to…you know…cut us up?" Paul asked hesitantly.

"Not if you ain't dead, it ain't!" Daniella's voice caught the attention of the two engines, as she was once again face-to-face with Paul. How she managed to creep up on them like that, Paul wasn't sure he wanted to know.

"There's plenty of other work for them to do here. No need for them to make this any worse for you guys than it already is. Just because you're no longer useful doesn't mean you should be treated like trash." Daniella then looked at Shawn, who glanced at he briefly before looking down, then closing his eyes again. "Poor fella's been broken in more ways than one. Used to be so cheerful before those fuckers got to him. Can't get him to talk anymore. Either he's given up completely or he doesn't have much time left. Be nice to him."

With that, Daniella backed away once more, and didn't return for the rest of the night. As a matter of fact, she had returned to her shed, and was soon sleeping soundly. Granted, Daniella was used to living and working in that very scrapyard, so sleeping there wasn't a problem for her. For Paul, however, the first night was absolutely terrifying. This place was something straight out of his worst nightmares. While Alan had eventually gone back to sleep, and Shawn remained silent, Paul stayed wide awake. Thoughts of everything from vandals, to ghosts, to the dreaded cutters' torch, plagued his mind. The complete silence didn't help, and Paul said wallowing in his thoughts, that is, until a piercing scream was heard.

"W-What w-was that?!" Paul stammered in fright. Apparently, he wasn't the only one to hear it, as Daniella was heard shouting, "is everyone alright?! Who screamed?!"

After not getting a response, Daniella went to investigate. A few minutes later, she was heard shouting, "Oh for fucks sakes! How many times do I have to tell you?! There's no bleeding _zombies_ here! Go to _sleep_! And quit waking everyone up!"

A chorus of nervous laughter erupted from near where Daniella was at, for one of the engines had apparently mistaken another's moaning for that of a zombie.

"Z-Zombies?! Ooooh, I hope there's no zombies!" Paul said nervously.

"Nah, there's none of those," Alan said quietly, "One poor fella's gone a bit nutsy over there. He tends to scream a lot, usually cuz he thinks he heard something, and then his imagination gets the best of him,"

Unfortunately, Alan's words only brought Paul's mind back to the grim reality he was facing. Would he too go insane as he slowly rusted out? How long would it take for that to happen? He'd heard his fair share of horror stories about the scrapyards, and the awful thoughts once again plagued his mind.

It was only a few days after his arrival; Paul woke one morning to the cutters, who were finishing what they had started on Shawn. Never before had he been so horrified and utterly sickened. Later that day, Daniella returned to "clean up the mess" as she so eloquently put it.

"He was already dead," Daniella said as she rather carelessly tossed the bits and pieces of metal into a pile that was several yards away. "Guess I was right about him not having much time left. At least he went out peacefully. I've seen some of these poor fuckers die in complete agony, screaming 'til they can't scream no more, lose their minds and—aw, shit," Daniella said upon noticing that Paul had begun to cry.

"Look, that probably won't happen to you—I mean, it _could_ , but most likely you'd just go out quietly," said Daniella. She let out a sigh. "it's not like I have a freakin' magic wand I can wave around an make you all better," she said, carelessly waving her claw about, "cuz if I did, I'd use it on every last one of you! I _get_ it, being here sucks big, floppy donkey dicks! But believe it or not, my job ain't easy! I don't like having to watch you guys slowly fade away. I never had a serviceable engine sent to this place, only those at the end of their lives, and—if I could make it any better, I would."

"I'm sorry…I didn't know," Paul said quietly, "it's just—"

"Nothin' to be sorry about, lil one. Tell you what, if there's anything I can do, just ask," said Daniella.

"Well, actually—" Paul said nervously, "I—kinda want to know more about you—I mean, I've only heard the rumors."

"Sure, what you wanna know?" Daniella said as she carelessly flung another piece of scrap metal aside.

"Well—um—what—what happened to your face?" Paul blurted out.

There was a moment of silence. No one had ever asked her that! Even Alan had let out a small gasp. Paul gulped, fearing he'd said something to make Daniella angry. However, after a few tense moments of nervous silence on the broken engines' behalf, Daniella spoke: "I suppose you all wanna know, don't you?"

Paul, Alan, and several others murmured in agreement.

"Well, I got nothin' else to do at the moment, so I might as well tell you," Daniella said, and backed up a bit so that she could get a better view of those who she was speaking to. Daniella looked almost hesitant as she did so, however. The new arrival had asked her a question that no one dared ask her before, and now literally everyone in the entire scrapyard wanted to know exactly what had happened to her face. She had never told anyone the details; only the fact that she had been in a bad accident.

Now, she had the attention of everyone who hadn't succumbed to their injuries, rust, or the dreaded cutters' torch.

"Are you OK, Miss Dani?" Alan asked.

"Yeah, it's just, well, it wasn't a very pleasant experience, to say the least," said Daniella.

"You don't have to tell us. Maybe I shouldn't have asked," said Paul.

"Nah, it's the least I can do for you guys," said Daniella.

 _Several years ago…_

It was a gloomy day, not only weather-wise, but there was an air of melancholy that hung around like a thick, suffocating fog. For it was only last week that nearly all of Daniella's brothers had been recalled, and sent off to be scrapped. Only three remained, Daniella herself, and the twins, Diesel 10 and Daniel.

Just a few weeks ago, Daniella would joke about the Thin Git's lack of creativity when it came to naming his engines. She would make snarky comments about it to her other brothers whenever she saw them. Now, that had all changed. Not once did she think that her entire class, save for a few, would be recalled. They hadn't even been in service for a decade.

At the moment, Daniella was resting in her shed, her mind mulling over recent events. The twins, who usually returned an hour after she did, were both very late, and this worried her greatly. Not only were they usually on tikme, but they were all she had left. Unable to sleep, Daniella watched for any sign of her brothers, hoping that nothing had happened to them. Perhaps they had gotten stuck somewhere, or had been called to assist another engine, she thought. She had nearly calmed herself enough to sleep, when she heard a couple of passing steam engines:

"You hear that there was a bad accident on the curve?"

"Yeah, some dumb diesel was going too fast! Probably bought itself a one-way ticket to the scrapheap!"

Daniella was once again wide awake, and with every passing minute, her sense of dread grew worse. Hours later, when Diesel 10 returned, Daniella knew something was very, _very_ wrong. He backed silently into the space next to hers, looking more miserable than she had ever seen him before Once his crew had left, her let out a loud, anguished wail that could be heard for miles, before breaking into choked sobs.

"Whoa, _whoa_! What happened?" Daniella asked, truly concerned, as she had never seen him this upset.

"I promised him! I told him he'd be OK! He's gone HE'S GONE! Daniel's dead!"

Diesel 10's words shook Daniella to her core, as they confirmed her worst fears that something horrible did indeed happen. However, his behavior over the next several days proved to be even more disturbing. Despite her best efforts, nothing that Daniella said or did could soothe her brother's pain.

When Diesel 10 was sent away for a while, Daniella feared that he had been scrapped, due to the fact that he had flat out refused to do any work, and when he did leave his shed, he had been incredibly reckless, and nearly caused several accidents.

Daniella was relieved the day he returned, but her relief was short lived. Diesel 10 now had a roof-mounted claw, which he had nicknamed "Pinchy", and he would frequently talk to it as if it could talk back to him. Even worse, he hardly ever spoke to anyone, and when he did, it was usually in an outburst of anger. Daniella tried speaking to him on several occasions, telling him that what he was doing was unhealthy; that bottling up his grief was doing him no good, but she never got through to him.

Losing Daniel had driven him insane.

For Daniella, it was almost as if she had lost both twins that fateful night. Diesel 10 had developed an intense hatred for steam engines, apparently having blamed them for his brother's demise. Though Daniella tried her best, she couldn't reason with him. Eventually, he got so out of control that the Thin Git simply gave him away to another railway just to get him off his hands.

Daniella hoped her brother would come to his senses, but those hopes were dashed when she got the news that he had gone on a rampage, and ended up falling off a crumbling viaduct.

 _Present day…_

Daniella paused as a single tear rolled down her cheek. "I never heard from him again. I don't think he survived," she said quietly. "I had gotten pretty reckless myself. Ended up wrecking on the same curve Daniel did."

 _Several years ago…_

When Daniella jumped the tracks, she thought it was all over. She closed her eyes and braced for impact, thinking to herself, "Oh well, if there's an afterlife, I'll be with my brothers."

However, that never happened. Instead, she hit the rock wall face first, and felt the worst pain of her life so far. Fully expecting it to be over soon, it only got worse as the freight cars she had been pulling slammed into her, violently shoving her aside. A horrible scraping was heard as she skidded on her side, followed by a sickening crack as her battered face caught against the debris from the wrecked freight cars. Something had stabbed into her right eye, and the next thing she knew, she could no longer feel that side of her face. A searing hot pain erupted throughout her engine compartment, accompanied by a strong smell of smoke. She was on fire!

Daniella let out a bloodcurdling scream that could be heard for miles. Why she was still alive, she couldn't understand. The only thing she knew at the time was horrible, unbearable pain. She screamed until she was hoarse, thinking that this was hell.

Finally, the flames died down, but she barely registered that the fire had been put out. At this point, she wished it would end.

"Hang in there, girl!" a voice called out. Daniella couldn't see who it was, but she soon found herself being lifted onto a flatbed, and having something secured to the damaged side of her face, and very tightly too.

"What are you doing to me?! I know you're gonna scrap me! No need to chain me up!" Daniella tried to shout, but her voice came out in a harsh, raspy whisper.

"Easy there, you're not being scrapped. I'm taking you to the works," that same voice said, and Daniella found herself face to face with a steam engine that she had never seen before. She didn't get a chance to ask its name, as she found herself barely able to remain conscious. However, the steam engine, which Daniella hadn't the strength to talk to at the time, continued to talk to her and encouraged her to hold on.

What happened next was a blur for her, and the next thing Daniella was aware of was several people standing around her and hearing their voices:

"We have to fix _this_? Is it even possible?"

"Boss's orders. We have to try,"

"Part of her face was ripped off! That can never be fixed!"

"We're just gonna have to secure it back on somehow, any way we can,"

"Are you suggesting—"

"Yes."

"That's never worked before!"

"I know it's risky, but it's her only chance. Look, we're all aware she probably won't make it, but if we don't try this—"

Daniella was jolted awake by a very unpleasant sensation. Something was creating a very deep hole right next to her nose.

"Easy, girl, we gotta do this,"

Daniella continued to fade in and out of consciousness, for how long she didn't know. She would often wake to the most unpleasant, painful sensations on her face. However, the worst part of the entire ordeal was having the metal bars that would hold her severely damaged face together attached. It was more painful than anything she had ever endured, including the horrific accident that had caused the damage in the first place.

 _Present day…_

"That sounds awful!" Paul exclaimed, then realized that he had interrupted Daniella's sentence. "Oops…sorry."

"It _was_ awful and it almost killed me too. I had woke up, still don't know how long I was out, still being worked on, and the guys that were working on me thought they might've lost me. It took a long time to restore me and get me running again. I wasn't even expected to survive," said Daniella.

"Those bars…do they still hurt?" Paul asked nervously.

"Sometimes, yes, though it's nothing I can't handle. Where they're attached, they go all the way through," said Daniella.

Paul, along with several of the others, cringed.

"Well, that's all I can tell you for now. I got work to do," said Daniella.

"Wait! Daniella? I'm sorry," Paul said, looking down.

"Sorry? For what?" Daniella said, looking at him quizzically.

"For thinking you're a monster," said Paul.

"Aw, it's OK. I'm used to it" Daniella said, albeit with a hint of sadness in her voice.

"But you don't deserve it! You're not a bad guy, and you shouldn't have to be alone," said Paul.

"I'm not alone, I've got you guys, and for some reason I don't think you'll be going anywhere," Daniella said with a smirk, and she left to another part of the scrapyard.

For a brief moment, Paul smiled, ever so slightly. Though he was nearing the end of his life, at the very least, he was in good hands, so to speak. That night, despite being stuck in what was possibly the most reviled scrapyard around, Paul slept soundly, for there was nothing to fear.


	2. Chapter 2

Since Paul's arrival at the scrapyard, things had been rather uneventful. At least, they were for several weeks. With no new arrivals, Daniella didn't have much work to do so she often talked to the broke engines to pass the time. Then, one day, Daniella told everyone that she would be gone for a while, and she looked very excited. As it turned out, Daniella had been called out to work on the fat Controller's railway to fill in for an engine that was undergoing repairs.

Though it was a bit strange that an engine such as herself would be needed there, at the time, Daniella didn't care. Finally, she was wanted for a job other than retrieving broken diesel shunters. That and perhaps the engines of Sodor wouldn't be afraid of her. The mere thought of being welcome somewhere other than the scrapyard made her happier than she had been in years.

 _Meanwhile, on Sodor…_

Everyone was wondering what this new engine was going to be like. After all, she would be filling in for Diesel 10, and the Fat Controller had said that she would be more than capable of doing his work. All that anyone knew for sure about the engine in question was that she was female.

At Brendam docks, Henry was waiting for his train, while Thomas and Percy were arranging it. Those two were taking forever because they were far too busy talking about this new engine to actually do any work.

"What kind of engine do you think she is?" Percy asked.

"Probably a steam engine, and a big one," said Thomas.

"But—if she's doing Diesel 10's work—wouldn't she need to be able to pick things up? I don't think there's any steam engines with big, scary claws," said Percy.

"I guess you're right about that—but I don't think there' any other diesels with claws mounted on their roofs either," said Thomas.

"Oh, there's one," Salty said, pulling up in front of them, "but I don't think you'd wanna meet her. She's the most feared engine on the Other railway."

"Worse than Diesel 10?" Thomas said, cocking an eyebrow.

"Much worse," Salty said with a shudder, "There's lots of stories about her, but I'd probably get in trouble if I told you. Far too scary."

"Aw, c'mon, tell us please!" said Percy.

"I don't need to be tellin' you all about the Grim Reaper of the Other Railway," Salty said, and Cranky rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Grim reaper? Don't be ridiculous, Salty!"

"I'm serious! That engine is every diesel's worst nightmare. She takes engines like myself to a horrible scrapyard, where they're never seen or heard from again. Usually you can hear her approach…she's got a horn like no other—"

"Like _that_ horn?" Cranky said, cutting Salty off mid-sentence. Salty jerked back in fright, and Cranky laughed. "Fooled you," he said.

"That wasn't funny! This is a real engine I'm talking about here!" Salty said crossly.

"Salty, I think you're starting to believer your own tall tales. There's no grim Reaper of the Other Railway," said Thomas.

Then, a horn sounded in the distance. An unfamiliar, eerie-sounding two-tone horn that slowly changed pitch from high to low. Salty blanched upon hearing it, and scurried off to hide in an empty shed.

"What's with Salty?" Thomas asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"That must be the new engine. Let's say hello to her. Maybe then, Salty will see she's not so bad," said Percy.

"Good idea Perc— _OH MY GOD that's a scary diesel_!" Thomas exclaimed as Daniella pulled up.

"Well, hello! Wow, there really are a lot of steam—" Daniella started.

"MONSTER!" Henry shouted, and quickly puffed off without his train, screaming bloody murder all down the tracks.

Daniella sighed. "Really?!" she said.

"Oh, um, he's a bit of a scaredy engine, and you're um—" Thomas said nervously.

"Scary?!" said Percy.

"Really scary!" Thomas said as he and Percy quickly backed out of her sight.

Daniella rolled her eye and continued along her way.

" _That's_ the new engine?! Thomas said as soon as she was gone.

" _That_ was the Reaper," Salty said, sounding truly frightened.

"She's terrifying!" said Percy.

"And obviously she's the substitute Diesel 10," said Cranky, "I'd stay out of her way. That claw looks like it could do some serious damage."

"That engine only comes out to pick up broken diesels for scrapping! What would the Reaper be doin' here I wonder? I don't think anyone's had a bad enough accident for that—oh. Oh no," said Salty, and he went back to doing his work without another word.

At the shunting yard, Duck was very cross. Not only was he stuck working with Diesel, but the trucks were being extremely troublesome that day. A few old and rusty trucks were waiting to be taken to the smelters, and the new arrival was late!

"Well, at least I don't have to deal with Diesel 10," Duck muttered.

"At least he wouldn't have been late! This substitute is causing delays!" Diesel shot back.

Then, Daniella came into view, blowing her horn as she approached.

"About time!" Duck grumbled. Diesel, however, looked as if he'd seen a ghost. "What's the matter with you, Diesel?! Don't you know it's rude to stare like that?!" Duck said, noticing Daniella's damaged face.

The trucks began to giggle and cackle as Diesel reversed quickly.

"What's so funny?" Daniella deadpanned. Then the trucks began singing:

"Bumping trucks about the yard,

Humping like a weasel,

You're not supposed to fuck the trucks!

Stupid fucking Diesel!"

"Hey, watch your language!" Duck scolded, but the trucks continued:

"Everybody's had enough

Of troublemaking Diesel

Look at that! You're getting scrapped!

Fat Hatt sent the Reaper!"

" _HEY_!" Daniella exclaimed, but the trucks continued:

"She'll take you and she'll rip you up

To tiny little pieces

That's what you get, you piece of shit!

Bye-bye goes the Diesel!"

At that, the trucks erupted into laughter, and Diesel backed into a siding, scared out of his mind.

"Whoa, _whoa_. Easy there, I'm not here for _that_ ," Daniella said in an attempt to defuse the situation, however, the trucks weren't helping. As a matter of fact, they continued their taunting:

"What are you waiting for, Reaper?"

"Rip him to pieces! Scrap him! Make him scream!"

"What did I do to deserve this? I've been behaving! Please just make it quick!" Diesel said, closing his eyes tightly.

"What?! No! I'm not gonna—" Daniella started.

"Kill him! Scrap him! Make him scream! Make him cry!" the trucks chanted.

"Will you lot SHUT THE FUCK UP?!" Daniella shouted as she swung her claw and bashed several of them straight off the rails. "I AIN'T HERE TO SCRAP THAT SHUNTER! BUT IF YOU KEEP RUNNING YOUR FUCKING UGLY MOUTHS, I'LL BE SCRAPPING _YOU_!"

The trucks became silent, however, Daniella's outburst had scared both Duck and Diesel. Both were trembling in fright, and Diesel was almost in tears.

Daniella let out a sigh as she was coupled up to the old, rusty trucks, and headed for the smelters. So far, everyone she had seen was scared of her. She hoped at the very least, that whoever worked at the smelters wouldn't fear her. Unfortunately, her hopes were dashed when Arry and Bert ran away screaming, "It's the Grim Reaper of the Other Railway! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!"

That night, Daniella slept on a siding, alone. What she thought would be an exciting opportunity to possibly make some friends had turned out to be incredibly disappointing. Everyone on Sodor was just as terrified of her as those on the Other Railway. Now, she just wanted to go home. She closed her eyes and went to sleep, wanting nothing more than to go back to the scrapyard.

When Daniella woke up, there was a little green tank engine sitting on the tracks next to her, looking at her nervously. Not in the mood for any more drama, Daniella said, "Go on. Run away. Everyone else does."

"I can't. I've run out of coal, miss…"

"Daniella. Though you probably know my _other_ name already."

"Daniella? That's a nice name. I'm Percy."

Daniella looked at him and said, "You don't think I'm a monster?"

"Well, you do look really scary…but you don't seem bad. It must be really hard, having everyone scared of you," said Percy.

"You don't know the half of it. Well, I better go," Daniella said as she began to pull away.

"Wait! You look like you could use a friend," said Percy.

"No one wants to be friends with an engine like me," Daniella said sadly, and at that, she left.

Percy sighed. "She must be very lonely," he said to himself.

Meanwhile, the Fat Controller was talking to none other than Lady, who had made a rather unexpected visit.

"What brings you here, Lady? Not that you aren't always welcome here, it's just that I wasn't expecting you to show up," the Fat Controller said.

"Well, I've been feeling like something's amiss," said Lady.

"Whatever do you mean?" the Fat Controller asked her.

"Something is very wrong, and I can sense it, I can _feel_ it. Tell me, has Diesel 10 been causing any problems?" said Lady.

"Diesel 10 hasn't been doing anything of the sort, matter of fact, he's very ill," the fat Controller said.

This left Lady wondering just what she was sensing that was so awful. So, she decided to ask some of the other engines if anything unusual had been going on. She had bumped into Diesel first, and quite literally.

"Will you watch where you're going?!" Diesel snapped.

"Ooh, I'm terribly sorry about that," said Lady.

" _You_. You're the reason that _she's_ here. Well, now I know who that monster of an engine is here for!" Diesel said as he pulled away.

Lady was puzzled. Diesel was certainly acting strange. Despite the fact that he had glared daggers at her until she was out of his sight, he seemed rather shaken. Something was definitely up. So, Lady followed Diesel. Being careful to not be noticed, she watched as he pulled into the yard where Thomas and Percy were working.

"Say Thomas, have you talked to that new engine?" said Percy.

"No, and I think it's a good idea to stay away from her," said Thomas.

"But Thomas, she seems really sad and lonely. I don't think she has any friends!" said Percy.

"There's a good reason the Reaper doesn't have friends!" Diesel snapped, startling them.

"Is it because of her face? She is really scary looking," said Percy.

"You silly, naïve little kettle!" Diesel snapped at him.

"There's no need to be so rude, Diesel! Geez, what crawled up your exhaust stack and died?" said Thomas.

"Don't you two stupid steam engines know anything?! That's the Grim Reaper of the Other Railway! She gets sent out to pick up broken diesels for scrapping! That claw she has is meant for _ripping us to pieces_!" said Diesel.

Thomas and Percy gasped. Thomas narrowed his eyes. "The Fat Controller isn't having any of you scrapped. That engine is here to do Diesel 10's work," he said.

"The Reaper isn't here to fill in for Diesel 10! She's here to take him away! Think for once, will you?! No one's figured out why Diesel 10 got sick in the first place, and the Fat Controller doesn't exactly like him very much now does he?!" said Diesel.

"I thought he was being repaired," said Percy.

"Well, he isn't!" snapped Diesel.

"That's nonsense; the Fat Controller isn't having any of his engines scrapped. Not even Diesel 10," said Thomas.

"He probably can't be repaired!" Diesel said, and stormed off to do his work.

"You don't think Diesel 10 is… _dying_ , do you?" said Percy.

"Obviously! Why _else_ would _that_ thing be here?! She's probably simply still looking for him!" said Diesel.

"Oh no," said Percy.

Lady puffed away after hearing that conversation. Whoever this new engine was, she sounded like bad news.

Meanwhile, Daniella had been sent to clear the tracks, as there had been an accident on the main line. A rubbish train had derailed, and there was garbage all over the tracks. Because the wreck was blocking _all_ of the tracks, Gordon was waiting impatiently with his express as his passengers grumbled.

When Daniella saw themes, she let out a frustrated growl. "What am I here substituting for?! The fucking janitor?!" she said as she began to clear the disgusting mess off the tracks.

"It's a fitting job for a dirty diesel," Gordon muttered crossly.

"Excuse you?! I heard that, motherfucker!" Daniella snapped at him. She was already upset that most of the engines were scared of her, frustrated with the work she had to do, and now this engine had the nerve to be incredibly rude to her!

"You should watch your language. It's almost as dirty as the fumes you're emitting," Gordon said disgustedly.

" _You_ don't tell _me_ to watch _my_ language! Who the fuck do you think that you are?!" Daniella snapped, flinging the garbage that she picked up just a bit too forcefully and causing it to splatter all over the trucks that she had brought.

"I am a very important engine, pulling a very important train, and _you_ , potty mouth rattletrap, are in _my_ way!" said Gordon.

"Rattletrap?! Watch the racist slurs, asswipe!" Daniella snapped as she continued to throw garbage at the empty trucks.

"My passengers are getting impatient!" said Gordon.

"Your passengers can KISS MY ASS!" Daniella shouted, as she angrily flung the wrecked freight cars to the side. Gordon stared at her wide-eyed as Daniella's pronged claw ripped one poor troublesome truck into pieces, and flung another with such force that it shattered upon hitting the ground. Gordon had definitely insulted the wrong diesel. He watched in stunned silence as Daniella violently threw the wrecked freight cars every which way. She had certainly cleared the tracks, but had left an even bigger mess all over the ground alongside the tracks.

"THERE! I CLEARED THE FUCKING TRACKS! ASSHOLE!" Daniella shouted as she stormed off cussing a blue streak. So far her time on Sodor had been awful. Only one engine had attempted to be friendly to her, and that was only because he had run out of coal and happened to have come to a stop next to the siding that she had been sleeping on. At least on the Other Railway, everyone simply steered clear of her and didn't speak to her. Here, not only were the engines afraid of her, but they were very disrespectful about it!

Frustrated, Daniella decided that she was going to find this engine that she was filling in for, and have a chat with them, whether they liked it or not. At the very least, a broken engine couldn't run from her. With that in mind, Daniella headed for Vicarstown.

Of course, on Sodor, rumors fly quickly, and the rumor that Daniella was on the island searching for Diesel 10 so that she could take him to be scraped had spread like wildfire. Hell, Diesel 10 himself believed it, as he had been parked in his shed and simply left there since he had fallen ill. Sure, he had been looked over, but no one had done any work on him. Now, with the infamous Grim Reaper of the Other Railway being present on Sodor, he assumed the worst.

"Well, it figures that Fat Hatt would have me scrapped!" Diesel 10 said in dismay, "He never cared much for us diesels much! No! Stupid steam engines get all the good stuff around here! And of course, he's let the Reaper loose on Sodor! The fat bastard probably hopes she'll take a few of you out while she's here! A perfect way to be rid of us!"

The other diesels shuddered at his words. They had all heard stories about the reaper, and none of them were nice.

"What are we gonna do?" Paxton said nervously.

"Watch your backs, I can only hope that when she comes for me, she'll spare the rest of you," Diesel 10 said darkly.

The others gulped. They could only hope that the Reaper wouldn't come for Diesel 10 while they were all there. However, the ominous-sounding horn that they all dreaded was blasted just outside.

"Oh _no_! She's here!" Diesel exclaimed.

Diesel 10 shut his eyes as the malicious-looking engine entered the building.

"Please don't kill us!" Paxton pleaded, and the others joined in, begging for their lives to be spared.

Daniella looked at the trembling, pleading shunters and growled in annoyance. She was sick of being treated like a monster. "That's ENOUGH!" she snapped, "Ever since I came to this horrible island, all I hear from everyone is _monster! Reaper! Diesel slasher!_ I'M SICK OF IT! I'm not a fucking murderer and I'm sick of being treated like one! I'M NOT HERE TO SCRAP ANYONE! Now, _where_ is this sick engine I was called her to fill in for?! I'd like a word with them!"

"I'm right here! If it's me you're here for, don't arm the others!" Diesel 10 said, still not daring to open his eyes.

Daniella looked over, and let out a gasp. "You survived. I thought they'd scrapped you after what you done," she said softly.

Diesel 20 heard the turntable move, and by the sound of it, the Reaper was right in front of him, definitely within range to strike him down. Yet, her voice was familiar to him, and almost calming. She sounded like the sister who had been in a horrific crash years ago, albeit with a slightly slurred voice.

Oh, he remembered that day when the Fat Controller told him of that awful wreck. With her face torn nearly in half and having caught fire, there was no way she could have survived that.

What was this engine doing?! She hadn't struck him, or even coupled up to him. Then, to Diesel 10's horror, his claw had been grasped. The first thing that came to his mind was, "she's going to rip it off!"

"No! Let go!" he said.

"Open your eyes," Daniella said softly.

Very reluctantly, Diesel 10 did so; not wanting to know what would happen if he disobeyed her. What he saw was both terrifying and relieving at the same time. This was undoubtedly the one that was feared by many, the one infamous engine that was rumored to do horrible things to her fellow diesels. Yet, she was the same kind as him. Her face had a nasty crack that ran from top to bottom at an angle, and the entire right side of it was held on by a crisscross of metal bars. This was, without a doubt, the same sister he thought he had lost years ago.

"Dani…" Diesel 10 said, stunned.

Daniella smiled at him, a lopsided smile, as only one side of her face could move.

"You're the reaper! Dani, how could you! Killing your own kind! _"_ Diesel 10said, his voice full of hurt.

"I don't do that! If you all would just listen to me!" Daniella said, frustrated. "You think I'm not aware of the horrible things that everyone and their brother says about me?! I don't even know how those rumors started but I _do_ know they've gotten way out of hand! The only thing that's true about them is yes, I do work a scrapyard, and yes, I do pick up broken diesels. I never _ever_ harm them, _ever_!"

"So…you're not here to take Diesel 10 to be scrapped?" said Arry.

"What?! No! I'm here to do his work because…oh you _are_ sick _,"_ Daniella said, noticing her brother's appearance. "What's the matter with you?"

Before Diesel 10 could answer her, the Fat Controller stormed in, looking very pissed off. "Daniella!" he shouted angrily, "I had you come to my railway to do a job, _not_ make a mess of everything! In less than two days, _you_ have caused more trouble than Diesel 10 typically does in a month! You've destroyed twenty-seven trucks, thrown rubbish all along the mainline, terrified my engines, caused all kinds of confusion and delay, and don't get me started on your potty mouth! There has also been a rumor going around that Diesel 10 is dying! I'll have you all know that is _not_ the case! Diesel 10 needs several parts replaced, and the order has not come through yet!"

At that, the other diesels sighed in relief.

"What do you have to say for yourself, Daniella?!" the Fat Controller snapped.

"Uh…whoops?" Daniella said sheepishly.

"I am _very_ disappointed in you, Daniella!" the Fat Controller said crossly.

"I said oops!" Daniella retorted.

"You are to go back to the Other Railway1 When I return, you had better not be here!" the Fat Controller aid, and stormed back outside to his car.

"What a fat fucking asshole!" Daniella said as soon as he had left. "I can tell he doesn't like diesels much! Look at this dump! How do any of you get repaired in this shithole?!"

"it takes a long time, I can tell you that," Den said quietly.

"The Fat Controller says none of his engines are ever forgotten, pah! He left Sidney broken for two full years!" Diesel scoffed.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" said Daniella.

"It's true, Dani. He doesn't care for us at all," said Diesel 10.

Daniella fumed. She had just found out that her brother hadn't been scrapped, but by the looks of things, he was being badly mistreated, and that made her angry. "Diesel 10, I promise you, I'll think of something to help you, and I'll be back, whether that fat fuck likes it or not. Right now, I'd better head back home...before I do something rash," she said darkly. Oh, she was seriously considering waiting for the Fat Controller to return and smashing him like a bug. However, it was probably best that she think things through. With that, Daniella left for the Other Railway. Little did she know, she was being followed.

Lady, who had been right outside, and had seen everything, decided to follow Daniella to the scrapyard. She had seen the awful state the Dieselworks was in, and while she definitely wasn't pleased with that, she wanted to know why Daniella had such an awful reputation. From what lady could tell, Daniella seemed to be telling the truth. However, lady thought it best to air on the side of caution for now, as the malicious-looking diesel certainly had a nasty temper, and an even nastier claw, one that put Diesel 10's "Pinchy" to shame.

Not wanting to take any chances at being on the receiving end of that, Lady kept her distance.


	3. Chapter 3

When Daniella returned to the scrapyard, she was deep in thought, and failed to notice the small steam engine that darted inside right before the gates slammed shut.

"Hello, Daniella…is something wrong?" Paul asked.

"My brother is on Sodor. Diesel 10, the crazy one," Daniella replied.

"Isn't that a good thing, miss?" asked Paul.

"Well, kind of," said Daniella.

"What do you mean by that?" said Paul.

"He's calmed down a lot, definitely more reasonable than when I saw him last…" Daniella sighed heavily, "but he's not doing well. He's sick, and he's been _neglected_! The fat fuck that owns the railway keeps all his steam engines in pristine condition and makes his diesels live in a dilapidated, old, filthy _dump_!"

"I'm sorry to hear that," Paul said sympathetically.

"I gotta figure something out, at the very least, get _him_ out and have him repaired and treated properly.He's all I have left, and I'm not gonna lose him because that fat _cunt_ can't be arsed to give a flying fuck about his diesels!" At that, Daniella went to her shed, trying to think of a possible solution to this.

Lady couldn't help but notice that the engines in the scrapyard seemed to like Daniella. Given her abilities as a magical engine, she could sense that nearly all of them were broken beyond repair, and some were very close to death. However, none seemed to be all that scared. As a matter of fact, for a bunch of useless scrapyard engines, these guys seemed pretty content.

This was very unusual. Other scrapyards that Lady had been near radiated fear, pain, misery, hopelessness, and despair. While there was some of that here, this one was peaceful in comparison.

Given that Daniella was clearly in a bad mood, Lady decided to wait until she was gone, and talk to some of the scrapyard engines. After all, these broken diesel shunters could do her no real harm. The worst they could do is be rude to her, call her names, and possibly curse at her, at the very worst.

Lady got her opportunity much sooner than she expected, as not even an hour later, Daniella headed for the gates.

"I'll be back guys, looks like I gotta pick up another one," she said before leaving.

Steeling herself, Lay came out of her hiding spot. "Um…hello? Could I maybe…ask you all a few questions?"

There was a moment of silence as the scrapyard engines stared at her. It was unheard of for an engine to simply wander into this particular scrapyard.

"You're a…steam engine," a female class 04 spoke, stating the obvious.

"Madison, be nice, she's probably lost," Alan scolded.

"Actually, I'm not lost. I sort of followed Daniella here, and I'd like to know more about her," Lady said nervously.

"You should ask her, miss, she's really very nice," said Paul.

"You're scared of her, aren't you? There's nothing to be afraid of. Dani won't harm you," said Alan.

"Well I was wondering why she has such a fearsome reputation!" said Lady.

"Look, Daniella _looks_ like a monster. Her job is to pick up other diesels for scrapping, and she only brings back engines that can't be saved. Once an engine is brought through those gates, it never comes back out. Think about it, steamer. She looks scary. She gets sent out to pick up the dying. Of _course_ others gonna call her the Grim Reaper. And who hasn't ever been afraid of death? With a job like hers, it's no wonder she's made out to be this horrible bogeyman," said Madison.

"She still doesn't deserve it. She's very nice, and she's been through a lot," said Paul.

"That does make sense, but I'm still not sure. She's got quite a temper! And she's Diesel 10's sister," Lady said with a shudder.

"Look, steamer, just talk to her. I know she'd love to have a friend that won't kick the bucket within six months or less. I also strongly suggest that when you do, don't trash talk her brother," said Madison.

"Alright, well, should I just wait 'til she comes back? You don't think she'd be upset that I came in here without asking, do you?" said Lady.

"You'll be fine, miss," Alan told her.

Lady decided to wait for Daniella to return, and talk to her face to face. After what she had seen back on Sodor, and what Daniella had said to Paul, she began to wonder. Diesel 10 had certainly caused Lady a lot of trouble in the past. However, what she had seen at the dieselworks was not the same raving maniac that had chased her down.

Daniella, who was on her way to bring yet another broken engine to the scrapyard, was fully expecting more of the same thing she dealt with all the time. However, she arrived to a rather grisly scene. At first, she saw smoke rising into the air, and heard a horrible, anguished screaming. As she drew closer, she saw flames, and firefighters working to put out the blaze.

A row of sheds had caught fire, and as it turned out, the very engine that Daniella was to take to the scrapyard had been caught in the inferno and it was screaming bloody murder.

Daniella could only watch in horror as it was engulfed in flames and listen as its screams became distorted, and eventually ceased. She was so transfixed by the scene in front of her that she failed to notice that another engine had pulled into the same yard, and was watching the carnage unfold, although he would occasionally glance nervously at her.

After the fire was finally put out, Daniella was given the go-ahead to take the one that had been burned. She could see that it was a class 02, or what was left of one, anyway. Looking at the damage, there was no way this thing hadn't been killed. It was completely destroyed; its outer hull having partially melted in some places due to the intense heat, and it was charred all over. The face had been so badly scorched, it was nearly unrecognizable, save for one closed eye and a thin line for a mouth.

Why this thing had not been loaded onto a flatbed, Daniella didn't know, however, she couldn't be coupled up to it properly, as its coupling gear had been mangled beyond recognition. "Excuse me, how am I supposed to—you have got to be kidding me!" Daniella said as she was haphazardly coupled up anyway. "Now this isn't gonna hold!" she said, but the man who had coupled her up simply shrugged and walked away. After giving him a dirty look and sticking a single prong on her claw in the air, effectively flipping the bird, Daniella realized she was going to have to hold this engine steady with her claw, and go very slowly, so as not to snap its coupling.

Daniella had it in a vice grip as she slowly backed out. "Oh well," she thought, "At least I don't have to worry about hurting it, but it this damn coupling snaps—"

To Daniella's surprise, the fire-ravaged engine opened its one remaining eye and stared at her in abject terror.

"Ooh, well, this complicates things. Um, hi. You're _not_ dead. Definitely not dead! I'm not hurting you, am I?" Daniella said awkwardly as she loosened her grip.

"No…not anymore," it said in a quiet voice.

"Maybe it would be better if I pushed you," Daniella said, and 'positioned herself and the other engine on the turntable. "Hey you!" she shouted at the operator, "Turn us around!"

"I don't take orders from engines," the ma scoffed, "Besides, why should you care about hurting that useless, mangled heap of scrap metal?"

"You TURN US AROUND or so help me God, I will shove my claw so far up your ass that 'human shis-kabob' will be written on your tombstone!" Daniella shouted.

Not wanting to be impaled on the Reaper's pronged claw in such an undignified manner, the man hastily had Daniella turned around so that she could push the mangled shunter without having to grip it with her claw.

"Sorry 'bout that, little one, you been through enough, an' I ain't gonna have you suffer more because some _assdick_ fucking _human_ doesn't _give a fuck_! Easy there, I ain't gonna hurt ya," Daniella said, then gave the man such a glare, that if looks could kill, he would be dead a dozen times over, and shouted, "But I WILL hurt humans who think that once an engine is USELESS, it's cool to TREAT THM LIKE YESTERDAY'S TRASH!"

As Daniella headed off, she saw the engine that she failed to notice before. A blue-painted class 45 and he was staring right at her. "Why yes, I did just cuss out a human! He was an asshole! Have a good day!" Daniella said as she continued down the tracks.

"Damn, he has beautiful eyes. I hope he didn't hear that. He better not have heard that," Daniella muttered, only to hear a muffled giggle from the shunter she was pushing. "Aw, shit, you heard that!" she said.

The burned engine gulped and looked at her fearfully.

"You got a name?" Daniella asked.

"No…I'm number 14…" it said in a small, terrified voice.

"Can I give you a name? You deserve a name. I mean, you somehow survived that fire. I thought you were dead for sure, but nope! How about Phoenix? You like it?" said Daniella.

"I love it!" the little engine squeaked, then gave her a puzzled look. "Why are you doing all this for me, reaper?"

"I think it's wrong to treat us like trash when we get damaged beyond repair. Call me a rogue, but that's just what I believe. I also caught on fire once…I know what that's like. By the way, name's Daniella," she said with a smile.

Lady was definitely nervous. Yet, she still sat in plain sight, so that whenever Daniella returned, she would be able to speak to her. Despite the assurances from the scrapyard diesels that Daniella would do her no harm, Lady couldn't help but be unsure of that.

Soon, the gates were heard creaking and moaning as they opened, and Daniella crept into view. Taking no notice of the steam engine, Daniella pushed a little diesel that had been horrifically burned to the point where some parts had melted right next to Madison.

Lady paled at the sight. She didn't want to imagine what had happened to that little engine. Daniella reversed, and spotted Lady. For a moment, she just stared at her, as if Lady was some bizarre, two-headed alien. However, due to her face being badly mutilated and disfigured, Daniella's dumbfounded stare looked more like a scowl.

"You lost, steamer? We don't scrap your kind here," said Daniella.

"Scrap my—goodness I would hope not!" Lady said nervously. "Actually I was—um—hoping I could—talk to you?" she stammered.

There was a moment of silence as Daniella stared wide-eyed. No one had ever dared enter that scrapyard, let alone with the intention of speaking to her. "Really? You actually _want_ to talk—to _me_?" she said.

"Yes, I do. You don't seem malicious, unlike Diesel 10, who's very hateful, nasty, and downright evil," Lady blurted out.

The scrapyard diesels gasped.

" _WHAT_?!" Daniella snapped, and Lady cringed.

"Ooooh, I _told_ you not to talk trash about her brother! You're in trouble now!" Madison taunted.

"Damn _straight_ you're in trouble!" Daniella said as she advanced on Lady, "You got some nerve, steamer! Sneakin' into MY scrapyard, behind my back, and talking shit like that!"

Lady backed away, only to hit a set of buffers. Oh, she had made a huge mistake, and now she feared she would pay the price for it.  
"If you got a problem with Diesel 10, you go _take it up with him_! Don't come to me and talk all that shit!" said Daniella.

"I'm sorry! I'm very sorry! Please don't hurt me!" Lady pleaded.

"I ain't gonna hurt ya, but I'd sure like to know what your problem with my brother is!" said Daniella.

"Diesel 10, when he first came to Sodor, had every intention of destroying me, and every single steam engine there! I know that he's your brother—and that you must care about him a lot, but don't tell me he's not evil!" said Lady.

"He's _not_ ," Daniella said firmly, "He's _insane_ , NOT evil, and you have NO clue what he's been through! He had a twin that he was very close to, and Diesel 10 _saw him die_. That happened only a few weeks after all our other brothers were recalled and scrapped. It drove him insane. I'm well aware of the stunt he pulled on Sodor a few years ago. I thought he'd been scrapped for it! What my brother did wasn't right, but he is _not_ evil."

"I never knew that," Lady said, looking down.

"Look what did you come here for?" said Daniella.

"I wanted to know why you have such a bad reputation…but I think Madison already told me," said Lady.

"It's because of the work I do, and you know how rumors spread," said Daniella.

"What happened to your face?" asked Lady.

"Got in a bad wreck, damn near killed me," said Daniella.

"What about that claw?" said Lady.

"This thing?" Daniella said, flexing the prongs.

"Uh-huh. What's it for?" said Lady.

"It's designed for ripping things apart. I got it installed when I was being restored after I had that accident, the one that ripped my face up. I wasn't expected to survive, but those people _really_ wanted to save me, and if that failed, at least make me happy. I wanted something like Diesel 10 has, but better, and I had this thing put on my roof. Anything else?" said Daniella.

"No, not really," said Lady.

"I suppose you wanna leave now," said Daniella.

"Actually, no," said Lady.

"Look, as much as I'd love to chat, I gotta figure a way to help my brother, who _you_ apparently don't exactly like, and deal with this lot here," Daniella said, gesturing at the scrapyard engines.

"I'm willing to help you, so long as you're not planning on doing anything bad," said Lady.

Daniella rolled her one eye at that. "I'm not making any evil plans, though I can't guarantee I won't lose my temper. The way that fat cunt—"

"Such language!" Lady exclaimed.

"Fat CUNTroller," Daniella continued, "treats his diesels in comparison to those steamers makes me sick! I don't wanna see any of them end up here, especially my brother! Say, you're that engine that Diesel 10 wanted to destroy!" she said, narrowing her eye at Lady, who once again backed away. "Why? What did you _do_ to him?!" Daniella demanded.

"I—I don't know! He mentioned something about wanting to destroy me because I'm the lost engine—" Lady stammered.

"Lost engine? _You_? Ha! Oh, I've heard the story of the Lost Engine of Sodor, supposedly she has magical powers," Daniella said caustically. "If you're this same _magic engine_ , why are you so scared? Ha! What kind of _powers_ do you have?!"

"Oooh, how rude! For your information, I'm telepathic, and I can sense how others are feeling!" Lady said indignantly.

"A _telepath_? Prove it! Read my mind right now!" said Daniella.

Lady did just that, and immediately wished she hadn't. Making a disgusted face, she exclaimed, "Goodness! Get your mind out of the gutter!"

"Well, I guess you really are a telepath," Daniella said, sounding somewhat impressed. "So, _Lady_ , yes, I've heard of you, who hasn't? I get why you got a stick up your backside when it comes to my brother, but when I saw him, he's calmed down a _lot_. He almost seems like he's back to normal. He definitely wasn't acting the way he did right before he went on that rampage,"

"I did notice that, he seems to have changed," said Lady, and then abruptly paused. "There's someone at the gates."

"I'll go check it out. This better not be a trick," Daniella said, and headed for the gates. Lo and behold, the same engine that had watched her take little Phoenix was idling right outside. Though engines of his class were common on the Other Railway, she knew it was him right away. He had those same midnight blue eyes.

Daniella stared back at him for a few seconds before grabbing some scrap metal with her claw and hurling it over the fence at him. "Stalker! Creep! Scram! Get outta here!" she shouted whilst hurling more scrap over the fence.

The other engine, after being pelted with bits of scrap metal, backed off and sped away in reverse as fast as he possibly could.

"Yeesh, what a weirdo!" Daniella muttered as she returned to where Lady was waiting.

"Well, are you willing to help me or not? All I want is to make sure my brother will be alright. If you won't help me, I'll do something myself, whether anyone likes it or not. He's all I have left," said Daniella.

Lady sighed. On one hand, everything that Daniella had said seemed to be truthful. On the other hand, this was Diesel 10 she was talking about. "I'm not sure. I need time to think about this," she said, and headed for the gates.

"Suit yourself," Daniella replied as Lady left her sight. Without another word, she returned to her shed.

"Well, that was bizarre. We _never_ get visitors," said Madison.

"I wonder who that fella at the gate was. Miss Dani didn't seem happy about that one," said Alan.

"I kinda hope that steam engine comes back," said Paul.

"Me too, she seems pretty cool…except for trash talking Daniella's brother," said Madison. Glancing to her side, she said, "Hey, you're pretty mellow. Usually newcomers are scared outta their minds. What's up with you?"

"Well…I'd been left in an old shed and ignored for months. The day I was supposed to be sent to be scrapped, the sheds caught fire, and I burned in the fire," Phoenix said quietly.

"Aw, sorry to hear that," said Alan.

"I was scared when I saw her, but she was real nice to me. I didn't have a name until today. She called me Phoenix!" the little engine said brightly.

The others smiled at him. Despite the horrific damage he had sustained, Phoenix seemed perfectly content.

Daniella, on the other hand, had a lot on her mind. Not only had the past few weeks been very eventful for her, but a part of her desperately wished for a friend; one that would be around for more than a couple of months or less. Granted, she was quite used to seeing the scrapyard engines die. However, there were times where she wished she could save just one, if nothing else just _one_ , and give it a second chance.

Unfortunately, it seemed that may never happen, as all engines that got sent to that particular scrapyard had been deemed unserviceable.


	4. Chapter 4

The Fat Controller was not in a very god mood. He had so much paperwork to do and all because that engine who was supposed to have done Diesel 10's job managed to cause more trouble than Diesel 10 would have dared to.

That morning he had ordered Diesel 10 to pick up the mess that his sister had left, as Harvey and Rocky had more important jobs to do. He didn't care that Diesel 10 hadn't been repaired yet, and he was strongly considering not wasting his money on having that blasted warship repaired. At that point, he considered getting another engine like Harvey to replace Diesel 10 entirely. For now, Diesel 10 would have to make himself useful for once.

Diesel 10 was too sick to cause trouble. As a matter of fact, he could barely do his job at all. He had to take it slow, as his engine kept overheating, which caused him to be very late. Everyone who saw him that day noticed that he looked completely miserable.

Thomas, Percy, and even Duck had attempted speaking to the Fat Controller about it, only to be brushed off.

Lady hadn't failed to notice this herself. She had passed by Diesel 10 once that day, as he was picking up the garbage and smashed trucks that Daniella had left along the mainline. Though she didn't dare make an attempt to speak to him, Diesel 10 had paid her no mind.

"My goodness!" Lady exclaimed once she knew that he wouldn't hear her, "He's in terrible shape! I thought he was being repaired!"

"I'm sure the Fat Controller has his reasons for making him work like this," Burnett reassured her.

"If that's the case, I'd like to know what those reasons are," said Lady. So, she went to speak to the Fat Controller. However, the Fat Controller, upon seeing her left, saying that he had important business to attend to. Lady mad several more attempts, only to have the Fat Controller conveniently have a reason to suddenly be somewhere else.

Lady, however, wasn't stupid. She could see that the Fat Controller was deliberately avoiding her. He seemed to not want her to find out about something, and Lady had every intention of finding out what he was hiding. So, Lady decided to park herself right outside of his office, just out of sight, and listen in on him as he was talking on the phone:

"Yes, a fitting punishment indeed for such a troublesome engine! I only kept him because I thought he was the last of his kind. Now, I can finally be rid of that blasted warship…oh, not yet, I'll get some use out of him still…yes, yes, once he fails completely…why yes! Pleasure doing business with you."

"Burnett, take me to the Other Railway!" Lady said urgently.

"What's going on?" Burnett asked as Lady puffed away.

"I must speak to Daniella, I'll explain everything once we get there," said Lady.

Daniella had thought that Lady wouldn't be willing to help her, or even speak to her anymore. The little steam engine seemed to have a personal grudge against her brother, and with all things considered, Daniella couldn't blame her.

She was very surprised upon hearing Lady's whistle at the gates, and even more surprised when Lady came rushing in, looking tired and distraught.

"You're back. What is goin' on?" Daniella asked.

"I'd like to know that myself, Lady," said Burnett.

"Daniella—it's Topham-! He-!" Lady panted.

"Whoa, whoa. Slow down," said Daniella.

"Topham—he—he's going to—" Lady stammered.

"Calm. _Down_. OK? Calm the hell down, and _then_ tell me what the fat cunt did," said Daniella.

"Diesel 10 is going to be scrapped!" Lady blurted out.

"What?! I thought he was being repaired!" Daniella exclaimed.

"Topham changed his mind. I heard him talking to someone on the phone; he's not having him repaired! He's go Diesel 10 doing a lot of work, he was saying it's a sitting punishment, says he wants to get rid of him once and for all. He found out that your brother isn't the last of his kind and doesn't want him anymore. He's not just planning on having Diesel 10 scrapped, the Fat Controller is literally working him to death as we speak!" said Lady.

"Lady, what's Daniella supposed to do about this? As much as none of us like it, the fat Controller can do whatever he wants with Diesel 10, including scrapping him," said Burnett.

"Over my dead body! My brother will get _repaired_ , whether that fat CUNT likes it or not!" Daniella said, as she charged out of the scrapyard, leaving Lady behind.

" _That_ is what I expected her to do," Lady said as she followed.

"What, go on a rampage, disregarding all the rules?" said Burnett.

"No, save Diesel 10. Without going on a rampage…hopefully," said Lady.

By the time Daniella got to Sodor, se was steaming mad. She spotted Diesel 10 on the mainline, and he was struggling to pick up debris on the side of the tracks. As she approached, his smoking engine gave a loud bang, and his claw fell harshly on top of him.

"Oh _no_!" Daniella said as she stopped directly in front of him.

"Dani?" Diesel 10 said, opening his eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm taking you to be repaired, whether that fat cunt likes it or not!" Daniella said as she was coupled to him.

"How did you know I was in trouble?" Diesel 10 asked.

"A little steamer told me. Told me all about what that fat fucker was doing to ya! I ain't lettin' you get scrapped!" said Daniella.

"The Fat Controller is planning on scrapping me?! What?! He told me I'm going to be repaired!" Diesel 10 said in dismay.

"Well, he LIED! He was gonna have ya scrapped after you broke down! That's why he was you doing all this work! He's hoping you'll drop dead!" said Daniella.

Diesel 10 was shocked. "A steam engine told you this? Who ws it? I don't really care for steam engines, but I'm going to have to thank whoever that was,"

"Her name's Lady," said Daniella.

"LADY?!" Diesel 10 exclaimed, sputtering as he did so.

"Yes, _that_ one." said Daniella.

Diesel 10 was too stunned to speak as Daniella brought him into the Dieselworks. Den and Dart were there, and so was Paxton. They were all startled when Daniella had entered.

"Oh _no_ , you're here to—t-take him away now, aren't you?" Paxton stammered.

"No," Daniella said curtly, "I've brought him here to be repaired."

"But the fat Controller um…" Den started.

"What he means to say is, the Fat Controller gave orders _not_ to have him repaired," said Dart.

"And I don't give a flying FUCK ABOUT THAT FAT CUNT OR HIS FUCKING ORDERS!" Daniella shouted, "If these workmen don't _fix my only brother_ , so help me God there will be HELL TO PAY!"

Paxton whimpered and backed up as far as he possibly could. The fact that she was Diesel 10's sister did not make the Reaper any less terrifying to him.

The workmen however, did not listen to Daniella. They simply went outside, being careful to stay out of range of her claw.

"YOU GET BACK HERE AND FIX HIM!" Daniella barked, but the workmen paid her no mind.

"It's no use, Dani. Fat Hatt never wanted me anyway," Diesel 10 said dejectedly.

"I won't let you be killed!" said Daniella. "Look, if the fat bastard sends you to get scrapped, _I_ get called. _I_ take you to _my_ scrapyard, and keep you safe there 'til I find a way to get you fixed," she said.

Diesel 10 smiled weakly at her in response. Then, to his surprise, Lady puffed in. "There you are, oh good, you didn't do anything rash. I was worried you might—" Lady froze as she noticed that Diesel 10 was staring at her.

"You weren't kidding, Dani! It _was_ her," said Diesel 10. "I—I thought maybe you had confused her with another engine— _Lady_?! You helped me? Why?"

"Daniella told me what happened right before you first came to Sodor. You don't deserve to be put to death because of a mistake you made years ago," said Lady.

"Thank you…I—I don't know what to say! After all I've done," Diesel 10 said as he looked down.

"Well, I'll be damned, he _has_ changed," Burnett said to Lady.

"I heard that," Daniella said, startling him. "And you're wrong. He hasn't changed at all,"

Both Lady and her driver looked at Daniella incredulously.

"This is how he normally is. He's back to being himself, like he was before…that accident," Daniella said with a sigh. As she looked to the side, she noticed that Den, Dart, and Paxton were all staring at her.

"I'm not gonna hurt ya, how many times do I have to say that— _you_ ," Daniella said, fixing her gaze on Paxton, who looked ready to panic. "You look a _lot_ like Paul," she said.

"I uh—have a brother named Paul. O-On the Other Railway He—I—I haven't heard from him in—in a while," Paxton stammered nervously.

"Well, shit, you even act like him. Paul was real friendly once he calmed the hell down. Poor fucker was scared shitless at first. I wasn't sure he'd adjust well to being in the scrapyard," said Daniella.

"Paul's been scrapped?!" Paxton exclaimed.

"Well, DUH, why else would he get sent to the scrapyard? And chill the fuck out. He hasn't been scrapped _yet_. He isn't dead yet, though by the looks of it, he probably will be in a month or two—" Daniella said.

"Dani!" Diesel 10 interrupted, "You're making him upset!"

"Whoops," Daniella said, finally noticing how upset Paxton looked, "Look, um, you're free to come visit," she said rather awkwardly.

"No! I don't want to visit that horrible place!" said Paxton.

"Suit yourself," Daniella replied.

That night, Daniella took her own brother to the scrapyard. It wasn't what she wanted for him; however, at the very least she could keep him safe from being cut up. Still, she worried about him. Diesel 10 was not well at all, and it showed. She had seen him break down earlier that day, and she hoped like hell that he could be repaired sometime I the future. After all, Daniella knew very well what happens to engines that are irreparably damaged, regardless of whether or not they get cut up.

The fact that Diesel 10 hadn't talked much on the way there didn't sit well with her.

"There it is, we're almost there," Daniella said as the ominous-looking wrought iron fence came into view. "You ok back there?"

Diesel 10 didn't answer her; instead he stared wide-eyed at what lay ahead. How his sister could live in such a place, he didn't know. He did know that he definitely didn't want to be there.

The gates creaked open, and Daniella pulled him inside. What was beyond that fence was horrifying to Diesel 10. Parts and pieces of dismantled engines were scattered haphazardly everywhere; parts that never belonged to steam engines.

"Home sweet hellhole," Daniella said with a hint of sarcasm as she brought him past several engines that were mostly intact, and others that were in a terrible state of disrepair. Finally, Daniella stopped and uncoupled from Diesel 10, leaving him amongst the derelict shunters. One of them, Diesel 10 couldn't help but notice, looked a lot like Paxton.

"Be right back. I gotta clear the crap out the way so I can get you in the sheds," Daniella said as she disappeared amongst the scrapheaps.

"Hello!" a rather chirpy voice spoke up. Diesel 10 looked to his side and spotted a little engine with the most horrific fire damage he had ever seen. There was a long moment of awkward silence as he stared at it.

"It's rude to stare, you know," Madison spoke up, "That's Phoenix. He got burned,"

"Obviously!" Diesel 10 blurted out, "How is he still able to talk?! He shouldn't have even survived that!"

"How _rude_!" Madison exclaimed.

"Now that wasn't nice at all!" Alan chimed in.

"I didn't mean it like _that_! I meant— _how_ did he manage to survive that?!" Diesel 10 blurted.

"Maybe you should ask _him_ that—hey, you're the crazy brother Daniella told us about!" said Madison.

"Lay off him, Madison. He's not looking so well," said Paul.

"Pfft. Are _any_ of us looking so well? Mr. Rude here owes Phoenix an apology—hey Phoenix, did this big jerk upset you? You're awfully quiet," Madison said, noticing that the normally talkative little engine had gone quiet.

"He didn't upset me. I'm just really tired," Phoenix said quietly.

Daniella then came up from behind her brother. She couldn't help but overhear part of the conversation. Looking at Phoenix, she said, "You doin' OK there, lil one?"

"Not really," Phoenix answered honestly.

"What's wrong?" Daniella asked.

"I just don't feel good," said Phoenix.

"Well, that's to be expected," Daniella said with a sigh, "not much I can do, sorry."

"It's OK miss, you've been very nice to me, and you made me happy," said Phoenix.

"Awww…get some sleep, lil guy. I'll see ya tomorrow," Daniella said as she pushed Diesel 10 away from them. She moved him into the sheds then backed into the spot next to him. "What's wrong with you, anyway?" she said to him.

"What does it matter now?" Diesel 10 responded dully.

"What does it matter? How can anyone fix you if they don't know what's wrong?" said Daniella.

"I don't know, Dani! The workmen looked me over thoroughly and couldn't figure it out. Then Fat Hatt decided to go and break me some more!" Diesel 10 said crossly.

"I promised I'd make sure you get repaired. I'm keeping that promise come hell or high water," said Daniella.

"And _how_ are you going to do _that_?" Diesel 10 said irritably.

"I'll figure somethin' out," Daniella replied.

"You mean to tell me you don't even know?!" Diesel 10 said with a groan, "I'm going to be stuck here forever! In a scrapyard!"

"No, you're not!" said Daniella.

"Yes I am! I'm going to die here!" Diesel 10 moaned.

"No, you're not, I _told_ you—" Daniella started.

"Fat Hatt made sure I'd never be repaired! He could have sent me to another railway where I'd be wanted, but he wanted me gone and now I'm going to—" Diesel 10 started.

"Will you QUIT YOUR BITCHING you are NOT gonna DIE!" Daniella snapped, "I know a dying engine when I see one, and you are nowhere close to being that far gone! I know you're sick! I brought you here so that fat asshole wouldn't be able to send you somewhere you'd end up getting dismantled! Now will you chill the fuck out?! Cuz ain't no harm is gonna come to you here!"

"You promise, Dani?" Diesel 10 asked.

"I promise," Daniella said softly,

Soon enough, Daniella had drifted off to sleep. However, Diesel 10 didn't sleep at all. Never before had he heard an engine snore. Hell, Daniella had never snored before. Diesel 10 figured that it must have something to do with her face having been mangled. Still, that was going to take some getting used to.

For now, he could only hope that things would get better.


	5. Chapter 5

Morning arrived at the infamous scrapyard on the Other Railway, and Daniella went to work. After loading parts into freight cars to be recycled, she went around and checked on those who hadn't succumbed to the damage they had sustained. To her dismay, Phoenix wouldn't wake, despite multiple attempts to rouse him. Though Daniella had fully expected this to happen, she still felt a pang of sadness, despite hardly knowing him. Daniella moved him away from the others; thinking to herself that sweet, friendly little Phoenix never deserved such a terrible fate.

As much as Daniella wanted to go and search from someone who might be willing to help her brother, that would have to wait.

"Looks like we got a couple unserviceables to pick up," her driver told her.

"Again?!" Daniella exclaimed.

"I know, there's been a lot of them lately. Don't worry girl, we'll go find help for Diesel 10 after we get this job done," her driver said.

Daniella grumbled as she left the scrapyard.

Meanwhile, a dozen class 17 diesels were sitting in the yard outside of a large workshop, waiting to be taken to the scrapyard. Derek and his siblings had always been plagued with all kinds of major problems, especially with their cooling systems failing. Having only been in service for a few years, with their near constant breakdowns and engine failures, their class had been deemed a failure, and every last one was recalled and destined for the scrapyards.

As they were waiting for the dreaded Reaper to arrive, another engine pulled up and stopped in the yards. "Hullo," he said quietly.

"Pardon me, but who are you exactly?" Derek said, as he and his siblings looked at the stranger warily.

"Name's Dennis," the bigger engine said.

"Dennis? Funny, I once met a rather lazy engine by that name. Different class, too," said Derek.

"You should leave," the engine next to him said rather urgently.

"Be nice, Sybil!" another of Derek's siblings chided.

"Sybil's right, Phil!" another replied.

"Come now! Sybil, Kenneth! Dennis is doing no harm," said Derek.

"But You-Know-Who is coming for us!" Sybil hissed.

"You don't want to be around when _she_ gets here," Kenneth said, looking at Dennis.

"Actually, um…I kinda do," said Dennis.

At that, Derek's siblings erupted into exclamations of "What?!"

"Pardon me, but you're not saying you actually want to meet the Reaper, are you?!" Derek sputtered.

"We…um…yes, I kind of do want to…um…meet her," said Dennis.

"You're out of your mind!" Kenneth exclaimed.

"She'll rip you to pieces!" Sybil exclaimed.

"I don't think she'll do that," said Dennis.

"What do you mean? And are you insane?! This is the engine that everyone calls the Grim Reaper!" Sybil said in disbelief.

"I've seen her before, twice actually. She seems quite nice, a bit temperamental, but nice," said Dennis.

There was a moment of silence before Phil spoke up and said, " _Nice_?!"

"Um, yes, actually. I saw her take a little shunter that had been caught in a fire, and she was incredibly kind to the little fellow," said Dennis. "Ever since then, I've been rather fascinated with her. I tried to visit that scrapyard—"

"You WHAT?!" all twelve engines exclaimed in unison.

"Yeah…it didn't go too well. She sorta…threw scrap at me. I think I might've made the wrong impression," said Dennis.

"You're lucky she didn't scrap you!" said Sybil.

"Fascinated? I do think 'infatuated' might be the correct word," said Derek.

"Infatuated?! Derek, are you saying this blue buffoon has a crush on the Reaper?!" said Kenneth.

"As a matter of fact, that's exactly what I'm saying," said Derek.

"You are out of your freaking mind!" Sybil exclaimed.

The siblings' chattering ceased as Daniella's horn sounded in the distance.

"I think you ought to leave," Phil said to Dennis.

Dennis however, did not leave. He stayed put, trying to think of what to say as Daniella approached. She came to a stop in front of them. As she looked at them, her face twisted into a scowl. "YOU'VE GOTTA BE FUCKING KIDDING ME!" she shouted.

Derek and his siblings cowered in fear as Daniella continued to loudly vent her frustration. "TWELVE OF YOU! _TWELVE_! I'VE GOT ENOUGH SHIT ON MY PLATE! I AIN'T GOT TIME FOR ALL THIS!" She let out a long, frustrated growl, before she locked eyes with Dennis. "You again?!" she said.

Denis stammered nervously before blurting out, "I—I love the sound of your horny—oh GOD I MEAN HORN!"

There was a long, awkward silence as Dennis flushed in embarrassment, and everyone looked at him.

"Well, um, nice knowing you," Derek said, breaking the silence.

"You got a death wish?" Daniella said, glowering at Dennis.

"Um—um—um—I—I—I'm—" Dennis stammered.

"I got work to do. I ain't got time for this! Scram, stalker. Go on, shoo!" Daniella said, waving her claw at him dismissively.

Dennis looked down and backed away, incredibly embarrassed. "Oh, I really screwed that up," he muttered quietly.

Daniella turned her attention to the twelve terrified engines before her. "Whoever shunted you did a shitty ass job! Didn't bother to couple you up and just left you scattered all over the fucking yard! Guess I have to shunt you myself since the SHUNTER CAN'T BE ARSED TO DO HIS JOB CORRECTLY!" she said as she shot a nasty look at a class 08 shunter, who had picked a rather bad hiding spot.

Derek, along with his siblings, had expected to be bashed around very roughly. They were surprised to find that Daniella was very gentle with them. Once they were all coupled up, and they had set off for the scrapyard, one of them muttered, "I'm surprised she didn't bash us around,"

"I'll only bash you if you act like a bunch of troublesome trucks," said Daniella.

"We won't do that, right?" said Derek, and his siblings murmured in agreement.

A little further down the line, Dennis had come to a stop. His fuel tanks had been leaking, and he was stranded at the bottom of a slope. His driver had gone to get help, and Dennis sat there, thinking that his day couldn't possibly get any worse. Unfortunately, his day was about to get _much_ worse, for Daniella was on the same track.

"What the—" Daniella said as she came over the top of the hill, and spotted the other engine at the bottom. She blasted her horn and braked, but the rails were slippery, and with the dead weight of a dozen engines behind her, she couldn't stop.

"GET OUTTA MY WAY! I CAN'T STOP!" Daniella shouted as she sped down the hill.

Dennis looked ahead, horrified at what was barreling down the tracks and headed straight for him. "I CAN'T MOVE!" he shouted.

Unable to stop, Daniella knew she had only one choice. She positioned her claw so that the prongs extended in front of her. Dennis closed his eyes, knowing full well he was about to be on the receiving end of that. A horrible screech was heard as the prongs pierced right through him. With a forceful thrust to the side, Daniella managed to knock him off the tracks and onto his side.

"I'M SORRY! OH GOD I'M SO SORRY!" Daniella shouted. She had heard his pained cries, and the awful sound of crumpling metal. She finally slowed to a stop, but the damage had been done. After being looked over to make sure she wasn't damaged, Daniella was allowed to continue on her way. However, she kept silent. She felt terrible about what she had done, even though the engine she had just derailed had made a nuisance of himself.

Dennis, however, was even more miserable. Not only had he royally screwed up at trying to introduce himself to Daniella, he had nearly been ripped to pieces by her. Even worse, he was in rather a lot of pain. He couldn't tell how extensively damaged he was, but he did know that Daniella's claw had torn him open above his left eye.

Dennis' driver soon returned, and he was not pleased at all. "Looks like you're gonna get your wish, ol' boy," he said, shaking his head. " You want to know that mean ol' scrapper so badly, you'll have plenty of time to get acquainted. The Thin Git isn't having you mended."

Dennis was horrified. This was by no means what he'd wanted.

"You'll be put back on the rails and shunted to the nearest yard," his driver continued, "Ol' Grim will pick you up tonight." With that, his driver left him there.

At the scrapyard, Daniella had quietly shunted Derek and his siblings into place and returned to her shed, looking very downtrodden. Her driver stepped down and patted her side. "You did what you had to, Daniella," she said.

"I think I killed him, Lorelei," Daniella said quietly, so as not to wake her sleeping brother. He did not need to hear this at all, as he was already having a difficult enough time as it is. Glancing over at him, Daniella let out a sigh. "What're we gonna do?"

"We'll find someone," Lorelei assured her.

"When though?" said Daniella.

"That, I don't know. At this rate, it could be a while," said Lorelei.

"But what if—" Daniella started.

"Daniella," Lorelei interrupted, "I know what you're thinking and that's not gonna happen. Even if he sits there for months, you're not gonna lose him."

"You're probably right, it's just—he's miserable. I don't want him to sit there and suffer," said Daniella.

"I don't want him to either, now just relax, and try not to be so damn negative," Lorelei said, and walked away.

That night, Dennis sat alone in the very same place that Derek had sat, before the engine known as the Grim Reaper came to take him and his siblings away. He thought about everything that had led up to him being in this situation.

When he first saw the Reaper, for reasons even he didn't know, she didn't appear frightening, as a matter of fact she looked beautiful. The way that she had treated the unfortunate shunter that had been caught in that fire only made him more curious. She had treated him like something precious and fragile, while speaking to the workmen in a manner that no other engine would dare to. After all, humans had the means to end their lives if they so pleased, and engines worked for them, not the other way around.

The Reaper, as it seemed, couldn't care less about that hierarchy. While it had become clear to him that she had gone rogue, Dennis liked what she had said. His driver had told him it was dangerous thinking, and that just wasn't the way things would ever be. Engines like himself were the property of humans, and to think of themselves as anything more was tantamount to blasphemy.

Blasphemy or not, Dennis wholeheartedly agreed with the Reaper's idea that becoming useless shouldn't mean being thrown away like yesterday's trash.

Oh, his driver had warned him that engines gone rogue were incredibly dangerous. Now, Dennis felt foolish for entertaining those ideas. If only he had listened, he might still be in service, and worst of all, the dangerous rogue that he had become so attracted to seemed to despise him. His twisted, mangled front and the hole that had been made above his left eye served as painful reminders of that.

Hearing her horn in the distance, Dennis looked down in shame. He had gotten himself into this mess; there was no way out now. He cringed upon seeing her approach, for she looked more ticked off than ever.

"HOW MANY DAMN FUCKING DIESELS IS THIS RAILWAY GONNA SCRAP?!" Daniella shouted as she pulled into the yard, and finally laid her eye on Dennis. "Oh," she said disgustedly, "It's the stalker."

Dennis tore his gaze away from her and looked down again as she was coupled up.

"Why'd you go an' make such a massive nuisance of yourself?" Daniella asked bluntly.

"Well, I—I—um—um—" Dennis stammered pathetically as they began to move.

"Well?!" Daniella said impatiently, "Spit it out! Why'd you follow me around like a goddamn stray dog?!"

"I—I—" Dennis choked on his words as tears stung his eyes. He couldn't tell her, for he thought she would only hate him more.

"What were you doing at the bottom of that hill?! You dipshit dim bulb! You coulda killed someone! You goddamn idiot!" Daniella hissed.

Dennis cringed again, trying desperately not to cry in front of her. Oh, those words stung. If he hadn't been such an idiot, that never would have happened.

"I thought I'd killed you! You have no idea how awful that was!" Daniella said.

"Huh?" Dennis said, caught off guard by her words.

"I didn't wanna do that but I had to! I couldn't stop! I thought I'd killed you…guess I hurt ya pretty bad," Daniella said, taking a good look at the damage she had inflicted. "I didn't wanna do that to ya. I'm sorry,"

Dennis stared wide-eyed at her, before finally plucking up the courage to speak. "Don't be…you're right miss, I—I was a bloody idiot. I almost made you crash…it's my fault. I got what I deserved…I'm a bloody fool."

"Why'd you act so foolish?" Daniella asked, sounding much calmer now.

"I…thought I'd try to talk to you again. I broke down, my fuel tanks leaked," Dennis said, sounding thoroughly ashamed.

"Eugh, so _that's_ what I slipped in," Daniella said, making a face. "But why were you following me?"

"I was curious…and…well, I might as bloody well say it! I'm getting' bloody scrapped! I like the way you think, a-and talk trash to humans! You…really don't take orders, do you?" said Dennis.

"Nope," Daniella replied curtly.

"Even from your controller?" Dennis asked, flabbergasted.

"I'm privately owned. My driver technically owns me, but treats me as an equal. I have a say in everything I do," said Daniella.

"You—don't have a boss?" Dennis asked her.

"Nope," said Daniella.

"So you _are_ a rogue engine! Oh no…oh I should've listened to my driver…he warned me you were bloody dangerous," Dennis moaned.

"Nothin' wrong with goin' rogue if you stick up for what you believe in," said Daniella.

"What do you believe in, Reaper?" Dennis asked. Hell, he had nothing left to lose by entertaining these ideas now.

"First off, name's Daniella. I've said it a million times before, an' I'll keep sayin' it again 'til people get the damn message: we're more than just machines,"

"What?!" Dennis exclaimed.

"I know, we all been told not to think like that, but it's true. Think about it. We're alive, ain't we?" said Daniella.

"Well yes, but—" Dennis started.

"Then why should we be used up and thrown away? Tell me, do you think that once we served our purpose, that we should be disregarded, left to rot, or cut to pieces while we ain't dead yet?" said Daniella.

"I—I don't like it, an' I don't think it's right, but that's just the way it is," said Dennis.

"It doesn't have to be that way, an' it shouldn't," said Daniella.

"But we can't change that!" Dennis blurted out.

"Oh, yes we can. If more of us thought like that, and acted on it, the people in charge would have to make changes," said Daniella.

"You're nutters! No offense, but—um—uh—that's a crazy idea!" said Dennis, "Not that I don't like it," he muttered.

Daniella smirked at him. "You're not so bad," she said.

Finally, Daniella reached the scrapyard and pulled Dennis inside. "Home sweet hellhole! Oh boy, where to put you?" she said, noticing that nearly all of the sidings were full.

"Bloody hell! How many engines are here?!" Dennis exclaimed.

"Too many," Daniella said darkly as she moved Dennis past where Paul and Alan were situated. "Guess I'm gonna have to put ya over here," she muttered.

"Good god! We're getting scrapped en masse...just like the steam engines…" Dennis said with a shudder.

"I've noticed." Daniella said flatly, as she moved him by the sheds that she slept in.

"Say, who's that one in the sheds?" said Dennis.

"Oh, him? He's my brother, only one I got left. He don't need to know 'bout so many diesels gettin' recalled an' scrapped. Probably wouldn't take it well, especially since I had to bring him here," said Daniella.

"WHAT?!" Diesel 10 exclaimed loudly.

"Oh, FUCK. You're awake. You heard that. Shit," said Daniella.

"That can't be true! Come now, Dani, we diesels are here to replace steam engines. There's no way we would be scrapped en masse. What would replace us?" Diesel 10 said, and Daniella rolled her eye. "Besides, all of the engines here are unserviceable; beyond repair. Surely they wouldn't be scrapping us while we're able to work," he said.

" _This_ scrapyard only takes unserviceables. There's others out there, you know this. Our class was recalled," said Daniella.

"That was because the thin Git is a greedy bastard!" Diesel 10 spat.

"Our class ain't the only one that happened to! Wake up and smell the rotten, dead roses! 'Us diesels', we ain't hot shit anymore! There's newer models being cranked out every few years. All more reliable and more efficient. A lot of us are just as outdated now as steamers were then," said Daniella.

"That's not true! That _can't_ be true!" Diesel 10 sputtered.

"Would I lie about somethin' like that?" Daniella said seriously.

"She's—she's telling the truth, mate," Dennis said quietly.

"That's not supposed to happen! THAT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN!" Diesel 10 shouted. Daniella closed her eye as let out an exasperated sigh as Diesel 10 launched into a tirade, shouting to the high heavens how he was going to find whoever was responsible for scrapping diesels, spouting off some half-baked conspiracy theory that the remaining steam engines _must_ be responsible, and that perfectly good and useful diesels were dying because the "outdated rustbuckets" couldn't accept that they were old and useless, talking to his claw, shouting at his claw for not responding, screaming "Pinchy's dead!" (thus prompting another eye roll from Daniella), shouting every derogatory term he could think of for steam engines, then finally screaming as loud as he possibly could before finally shutting up.

"Are you finished?" Daniella said irritably, only to get an extremely loud "NOOOO!" in reply.

"Geez!" Dennis muttered.

"He's got… _issues_ ," Daniella muttered back.

"Um…who's Pinchy?" Dennis asked.

"His claw. He's mental," said Daniella.

"Oh, poor fella," Dennis said sympathetically.

"Yeah," Daniella said with a cringe, "he did not take that well!" with yet another roll of her eye, she backed into the sheds next to Diesel 10, who was still going on about "Pinchy" being "gone forever".

"Your claw is still mounted to your goddamn roof! It ain't working cuz you broke down completely!" Daniella said irritably.

"You don't understand!" Diesel 10 hissed at her.

"You are freaking out over something that can easily be replaced if it can't be repaired!" said Daniella.

"NO! If I lose Pinchy I lose him forever!" Diesel 10 snapped.

"He?! Who is 'he'?! And don't tell me you think that thing has a gender!" said Daniella.

"Daniel! I'll lose Daniel!" Diesel 10 snapped.

"Daniel was scrapped years ago! What are you talking about— _oh_. Oh, why didn't I realize that—it's made from his parts!" Daniella said, finally making the connection. No _wonder_ her brother had gone insane. He was literally stuck with a constant reminder that his twin was gone, and refused to let it go. If it had been removed years ago, when he first started talking to it, he might have eventually gotten over it. Taking it from him now would shatter him, and Daniella didn't want that, not after he was showing signs of returning to his normal self.

"I don't think it's broken, Diesel 10. It doesn't look broken. You probably can't move it cuz the rest of you is messed up," Daniella said softly. Upon getting no reply from him, she continued. "You gotta quit blaming steamers for everything that goes wrong. Shit happens, an' a lot of times, it ain't no one's fault. I know, there were a few that treated you like trash when our class was recalled. They rubbed it in, an' they were downright cruel. They treated me like shit too."

"How can you be so forgiving after that?!" Diesel 10 spat.

"I'm not. I've never forgiven them for what they did to you. I just don't hate _all_ steamers. They're not all like that, y'know. Remember, it was a steamer that saved my life. Yours too," said Daniella.

"You're right, Dani," Diesel 10 said, sounding resigned.

Once again, Daniella remained awake, pondering over everything that had happened recently. She still wondered who she could turn to when it came to getting her brother repaired. Daniella really didn't have many options, as she wasn't exactly very well liked, and neither was Diesel 10. Then, reflecting upon her most recent conversation, she had an idea. Keeping it in mind, Daniella finally closed her eye and drifted off to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

For the last couple of days, Paxton hadn't been himself. The normally happy-go-lucky diesel had been unusually quiet and somewhat careless. Ever since Diesel 10's terrifying sister had shown her face on Sodor, things seemed to take a turn for the worse. Why the Fat Controller had tried to straight up kill Diesel 10, he didn't know. Diesel had been going on about the Fat Controller possibly looking to have some of the others sold for scrap, and it was looking like he might be right about that.

Right now, Paxton was headed for the Other Railway. He had convinced has driver to take him there, as he thought that not only Diesel 10, but one of his brothers were in grave danger.

As he was switched onto the track that led to the infamous scrapyard, Paxton became anxious and fearful. A million thoughts raced through his mind; not one of them pleasant. For all he knew, it could be too late to save both Diesel 10 and Paul. His anxiety mounted as the scrapyard came into view. Dimly lit by a few old floodlights, and shrouded in mist, it had to be the spookiest place he had ever seen.

Paxton truly did not want to get any closer, as a matter of fact, he wanted to run away as fast as his wheels could carry him, but he pressed on. Then, he saw something that nearly made him panic. For him, it was as if Hell's gates were opening and the Devil was emerging. Paxton braked hard, reversed, and quickly scurried onto a siding as Daniella emerged. He shut his headlamps off, hoping he hadn't been seen. He shuddered as her horn blared, freezing as she slowly approached on the nearby tracks.

"Hello? Is someone there?" Daniella called out.

Paxton didn't dare make a sound as Daniella very slowly passed by. He could see her right side as she passed.

"That's funny, coulda sworn I saw headlamps…" Daniella muttered as she continued on her way.

Once she was gone, Paxton let out a huge sigh of relief, thanking his lucky stars that the Reaper was half blind. If it wasn't for the fact that she was missing her right eye, Daniella surely would have spotted him.

Now that she had left, Paxton had his chance. Steeling himself, Paxton headed for the open gates. Once inside, he was greeted by a chilling sight. Bits and pieces of engines like himself, scattered haphazardly everywhere; mangled and rusted derelicts, many of whom had already succumbed. "Paul?! Diesel 10?!" he called out, his voice barely a whisper. He gulped, "Where are you? I'm gonna get you outta here!"

Upon getting no reply, Paxton realized he was going to have to search the scrapyard to find them. He did not want to stay in this hellhole any longer than absolutely necessary.

As he searched the dreaded scrapyard, Paxton soon found himself face to face with an engine whose front end had been severely mangled. Its face was cracked in many places, and bits of it had crumbled and fallen off. Now, Paxton had never even seen old steam engines in such a bad state of disrepair, and seeing one like himself in such a sorry state came as quite a shock.

"Hello," the other engine said in a barely audible voice, as it opened its eyes just halfway.

"Oh, you need help! I'm looking for someone else...I'll come back for you," Paxton said as he backed away, and continued his search.

 _Meanwhile, on Sodor…_

Daniella was hell bent on finding that steam engine who had alerted her to Diesel 10's predicament. Even if she herself wasn't willing to do any more for him, perhaps she knew of someone else who would. So far, Daniella had no luck in finding her, and asking around hadn't helped, as all the diesels still ran from her, and the steam engines had been more than a little bit rude. Having had enough of this, Daniella decided that whoever she ran into next, she wouldn't take no for an answer from.

The engine that just so happened to be unfortunate enough to have Daniella run into him next just so happened to be Diesel.

"Hey! You!" Daniella said as she approached from behind him.

Startled by her voice, Diesel sped off as fast as he could, and Daniella gave chase. "Get back here!" she yelled.

"No!" Diesel yelled back.

"I need to ask something, dammit!" Daniella yelled.

"Go away!" Diesel shouted.

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way! Don't make me use my claw!" Daniella shouted.

"AAAAAHH!" Diesel shouted as he continued to flee. He was moving at top speed, but it was no use, as Daniella was much faster than him, and she quickly caught up. Clamping her claw down on him, she applied her brakes and screeched to a halt. "Gotcha!" she said.

"AAAAAAAAHHHH! HELP! SOMEBODY HELP!" Diesel screamed in terror as he struggled to break free, but no matter how hard he pulled, he couldn't get away. "Let me go! _OW!_ YOU'RE HURTING ME!" he wailed.

"Stop struggling!" said Daniella, but Diesel didn't listen. Finally, his driver gave up, stepped down from his cab, and walked away with a shrug of his shoulders.

"No! NO! Don't leave me!" Diesel cried out desperately.

"FOR FUCKS SAKES I'M NOT GONNA SCRAP YA!" Daniella shouted, losing her patience.

"You're—you're not?!" Diesel exclaimed.

" _NO_!" Daniella roared angrily. "NOW TELL ME WHERE THE FUCK LADY IS!"

"I don't know!" Diesel wailed.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T KNOW?!" Daniella shouted, extremely frustrated.

"I don't know where she is! Let me go, please!" Diesel pleaded.

Percy, who was coming down the line with his mail train, saw this and screeched to a stop. He had never seen Diesel look this terrified before, and Daniella was nearly crushing him with her claw!

"Daniella!" Percy exclaimed, "Let him go! You're hurting him!"

Letting out a small gasp, Daniella quickly released Diesel, suddenly realizing that she was denting him rather badly.

"If you wasn't to know where Lady is, you should ask nicely!" said Percy.

"I _tried_ asking nicely! Everyone fucking runs away from me! And I lost my damn patience!" said Daniella.

"That's still no way to get what you want! You're being a big bully!" said Percy.

"He's right, Daniella," Lorelei said, sticking her head out the window. "I know you've been upset lately, but your temper is getting out of hand. Screaming at other engines, and cussing 'em out is one thing, but you nearly crushed that shunter!" she scolded.

Daniella felt terrible. "I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry," she said, ashamed at what she had done.

"C'mon, girl, I think I better take you back home," said Lorelei.

"If I see Lady, I'll ask her to go visit you," said Percy.

"Thanks," Daniella said, looking down. At that, she headed back to the Other Railway.

At the scrapyard, Paxton had finally found his brother. "Paul," he said, dismayed to see him in such a sorry state.

"Paxton? What are you doing here?" said Paul.

"I'm gonna get you outta here," said Paxton.

"What?" Paul said, bewildered.

"Wait right there, I gotta go get someone," Paxton said, remembering the other engine he had run into.

"Paxton, wait!" Paul said, but Paxton had already gone to get the other engine.

"I came back for you," Paxton said, "I'm getting you and my brother outta here."

The only response the mangled engine gave was to open its eyes slightly. As Paxton was coupled up, to his horror, he heard the gates creak open. He stayed silent, hoping the Reaper wouldn't notice him. However, the sound of her purring motor drew closer, followed by a loud exclamation of "WHAT THE FUCK?!"

"Oh, no!" Paxton exclaimed as he was quickly uncoupled. He scurried off as fast as he could, only to end up further into the scrapyard.

"Get _back_ here, motherfucker!" Daniella growled, "I know you Sodor diesels are neglected, but HOW DARE YOU?!"

Paxton switched onto another track, but Daniella spotted him. "You were gonna take him for parts! You dirty little thief!" Daniella shouted, as she picked up scrap with her claw and flung it at the intruder. Paxton yelped as parts from an already dismantled engine rained down on him. He quickly reversed, taking cover behind a row of trucks. One of the trucks was clearly dead, as its face was hanging off at an odd angle, much to his horror.

All this commotion had gotten the attention of Diesel 10, and woken Dennis, who had been sleeping soundly.

"What the—" Diesel 10 said as he saw scrap metal go flying through the air. Then, he saw a very frightened Paxton back up and hit a set of buffers, followed by a very angry Daniella, who got in his face and shouted, "GOTCHA, YOU LITTLE SHIT!" while holding her claw menacingly.

"DANI!" Diesel 10 shouted, "DANI, STOP!"

"This little shit tried to take a dying engine! So it can be cut up for spare parts!" Daniella said angrily.

"Paxton would never do that!" said Diesel 10.

"Bullshit! I caught him red handed!" said Daniella.

"Paxton! What _are_ you doing in the scrapyard?" said Diesel 10.

"I was trying to rescue you and my brother!" said Paxton.

"And take that other one for parts too?!" Daniella shouted at him.

"N-no! I—I wanted to help that one too," Paxton stammered.

"See? Paxton would never do such a thing!" Diesel 10 said, giving his sister a dirty look. He could see Lorelei do a facepalm in Daniella's cab.

Daniella sighed heavily. "Oh, boy. Sorry 'bout that," she said. "Look, that engine you were trying to save, you can't."

"Why not?" said Paxton.

"He's completely beyond repair. Matter of fact, everyone that comes here is beyond repair. They all die, all of 'em, long before they get cut up. Some just take longer than others to do that. The one you had coupled up to, moving him around would only make it worse, and he's nearly dead," said Daniella.

Paxton was saddened by that. "What about Paul?" he said.

"He's unserviceable too. He's probably got a couple months left. The only one here that ain't dying is my brother…at least I hope like hell he ain't!" said Daniella.

"Bloody hell!" Dennis exclaimed, "Um, excuse me miss, but that was bloody morbid! No wonder you're called the Grim Reaper! Geez!"

"Eh, it's a dirty job but someone's gotta do it," said Daniella.

"It must be a tough job," said Dennis.

"Not really, I usually don't get called to pick up engines very often. There's been a lot more than normal lately though, but it's not like I'm pulling heavy freight trains," said Daniella.

"I don't mean 'tough' labor-wise, I meant—it's got to be difficult knowing that non one that comes to this scrapyard can be saved," said Dennis.

"Yeah, yeah it is," Daniella said sadly.

"How do you stand it?" said Dennis.

"I think I've just gotten used to it," said Daniella.

"That's awful…all of them?" said Paxton.

"Yes, all of them," said Daniella.

"Even Paul…and that big fellow over there?" Paxton said, his voice quivering.

"Even them," said Daniella.

"That's terrible…" Paxton said, no longer able to hold back his tears. To him, this was all absolutely horrible. He didn't understand how anyone could get used to so much death, yet Daniella didn't seem fazed by it. She was surrounded by it 24/7. Paxton remembered one time, shortly before he left the Other Railway to live on Sodor, Paul warning him of an engine he hoped to never see.

 _"There's a monster that lives in that scrapyard, a big engine with a nasty claw. If she comes for you…it's the end of the line. No one knows her name, if she even has one, but she's known as the Grim Reaper."_

Paul's words echoed in Paxton's mind. He remembered having terrible nightmares about the monster that lurked in the scrapyard. Yet here he was, face to face with that same monster, the same bogeyman that had haunted his dreams. Not only that, he was in the one scrapyard that no one dared visit.

Yet, the Reaper didn't seem like such a horrible monster now. Oh, she certainly looked like one, but this was no killer. She had lashed out at him because she thought that he was harming one of the badly broken engines. No, this was an engine stuck with the most horrible job out there, and yet she managed to do her job very well, without being cruel or cold.

"Hey, it's alright. You can come visit anytime ya want," said Daniella.

"Thanks miss," Paxton said quietly.

"Why don't ya go spend some time with your brother?" Daniella said as she moved out of his way.

Paxton smiled at her. Glancing at Diesel 10 he said, "I'm gonna find someone to get you fixed. I'll be back as soon as I find them,"

"Thank you, Paxton," said Diesel 10, and Daniella grinned at him. Paxton smiled back and left, after saying goodbye to Paul.

That night, Diesel 10 had taken a turn for the worse. His face had become frightfully pale, and he lacked the energy he had before. Daniella feared that she would lose him. The next few days, she kept a close eye on him, not leaving his side unless she absolutely had to. Daniella could only hope that Paxton managed to find someone willing to help him, and soon.

Then, one evening, as Daniella sat idling in front of her sick brother, watching him carefully as he slept, she heard a familiar whistle, followed by the sound of the gates opening.

"Lady! I'm over here!" Daniella called out.

Following the sound of her voice, Lady made her way over to the sheds that Daniella sat in front of. Before Lady could say anything, Daniella spoke:  
"Please help. I know you don't like my brother much but please, _please_! If nothing's done about this…he—he'll die. I can't lose him…he's all I got left," she pleaded, her voice becoming a choked whisper.

"Oh dear," Lady said softly. "Burnett, please go take a look at him and tell me how bad it is,"

Her driver was taken aback. "Lady, you're asking me to just walk up to _Diesel 10_ and look inside him," he said.

"Please, Burnett! He doesn't deserve this, and neither does his sister! Besides, he couldn't hurt anyone if he wanted to right now," said Lady.

Reluctantly, Burnett got out of Lady's cab and went to Diesel 10.

"Don't do nothin' funny in there," Daniella said threateningly, "You break him more and I'll mount your head on the damn fence!"

Burnett gulped. "Don't worry, I won't," he said.

"Daniella, I came here because I needed to talk to you about something," said Lady. When Daniella merely looked at her in response, she continued. "  
Something very bad is about to happen on Sodor. I don't know what, but I can feel it. Something is very, very wrong,"

"It's Sir Fatham Fatt," Lorelei spat.

"Excuse me?" said Lady.

"I haven't told my engine this yet, but it's high time that I do, and you oughta know too," said Lorelei.

"What is it?" said Daniella.

"I was the one on the other end of the phone when that bastard was calling about scrapping Diesel 10," said Lorelei.

"WHAT?! Why didn't you tell me?!" Daniella snapped.

"I didn't think he was serious. Turns out I was very mistaken, reason being that I offered to take Diesel 10 for free. I told him this scrapyard only takes unserviceable engines and I wouldn't take one that's reparable. Didn't think he'd go so far as to try to break him beyond repair," said Lorelei.

"But you're just a driver! Surely the manager of this place would decide these kind of things," said Lady.

Lorelei shook her head. "I'm not just Dani's driver, and I'm more than just the manager here. I own the scrapyard. I technically own Dani too, but she's allowed to do pretty much what she wants,"

"So that's why Daniella has so much authority here," said Lady. It all made sense now. Lorelei let Daniella have her way most o the time, meaning that Daniella had a say in everything that happens at the scrapyard. "Lorelei," Lady said, "Why do you only take engines that are beyond repair?"

"So I can make enough money to support myself without ever being faced with having to kill one. Dani scraps rolling stock too, but these guys are more than just machines. They're alive, and they deserve to be cared for even if they can no longer serve their purpose," said Lorelei.

Lady smiled at her. "I have to agree with you there. The scrapyards are such terrible, cruel places. Well, except for this one,"

"I know, and I'd love to put an end to that," Lorelei said darkly.

"Same here!" said Daniella.

"Um, excuse me, but you two are doing a mighty fine job of that is I do say so myself. I—um—admire you, Daniella," Dennis chimed in.

Daniella tore her eye off her brother and looked at Dennis. She still felt terrible for the hole she had put in his face, along with all his other injuries. Here was an engine that had not only had the courage to seek her out, but wholeheartedly agreed with her and Lorelei. "I'm so sorry I hurt you," she said.

"S'alright," said Dennis, "At least I get to know you now,"

It was then, Burnett walked back to Lady. "It looks like he can be fixed, but I couldn't do it myself. I'll need a lot of help, and he needs a lot of new parts," he said.

"Well, we're just going to have to convince some people to help him," said Lady.

"But how?! No one listens to me, they all run away! Besides, I can't leave him like this!" said Daniella.

"I doubt he'll die from this, but the longer we wait, the worse it'll be. Me and Lady also need to find out what's about to go down on Sodor," said Burnett.

Daniella looked down. Lady's driver had made a good point. However, she didn't want to leave her brother's side, considering the state he was in.


	7. Chapter 7

Daniella had been sitting, contemplating whether or not to return to Sodor with Lady, for almost half an hour. She wanted to find help for Diesel 10, yet she feared that he would be gone once she returned.

"Dani," Lorelei said softly, "We really should go with them. I'm sure Diesel 10 will be just f—oh for fucks sakes!" Lorelei swore as her phone rang. "Better answer this, probably another goddamn broken engine to pick up," she groaned.

"I hope it's not that," Daniella muttered.

"Hello?" Lorelei said unenthusiastically.

"Ah, Miss Lorelei! I'd like to propose a deal,"

"Topham," Lorelei spat, immediately recognizing the voice on the other end, "What do you want?"

"You see, Miss, there are several engines on my railway that I no longer have any use for," the Fat Controller said.

"Are they damaged beyond repair?" Lorelei asked, doing her best to conceal her seething anger.

"Ah well, no. They're simply not needed anymore and I'm looking to get rid of them," the Fat Controller said.

"I've already told you my policy on that," Lorelei hissed, balling her free hand into a tight fist.

"Surely you can make an exception?" the Fat Controller asked.

"Absolutely fucking not!" Lorelei snapped, unable to keep her temper in check anymore.

"Now, there's no need to use such vulgar language at me. I can simply take my business elsewhere—" the Fat Controller began.

"LIKE FUCK YOU WILL!" Lorelei shouted angrily, and hung up. She huffed and puffed for a minute before speaking again: "That fat fuck wants to get rid of some of his engines,"

Lady gasped. "So it is true, the Fat Controller really is planning on having some of his engines scrapped," she said.

"He better not be planning on making any of them unserviceable!" Lorelei snapped.

"Burnett, we'd better go warn them, we don't know who exactly Sir Topham Hatt wants to get rid of," said Lady.

"Right you are, Lady," Burnett said as he climbed into her cab.

"Most likely it's the diesels. He doesn't take good care of 'em anyway, and I don't scrap steamers," said Daniella.

"I'll be back, Daniella, and I promise I'll find someone to help your brother," said Lady.

Daniella smiled slightly at her as she puffed off, and then looked back to her brother, who was still sound asleep. "Hang in there," she said softly. She then looked at Dennis, who was watching her, and looking concerned. "Do me a favor," she said.

"Um—I'll try—I mean—I can't exactly move," said Dennis.

"Keep an eye on Diesel 10 for me, and holler if he wakes up or, God forbid, gets worse," said Daniella.

"Alright Daniella, but where are you going?" said Dennis.

"I gotta check on everyone else," said Daniella.

"You really care about them, don't you?" said Dennis.

"Yeah, I do," said Daniella.

"I love you for that. Aw, no. I just said that out loud," Dennis said, flushing in embarrassment.

Daniella smiled a little. "You're sweet. Ballsy, too," she said.

"Ballsy?!" Dennis sputtered, "I—I've always been called a wuss,"

"You approached me, didn't you? The most feared engine in the land. I'd say that's pretty ballsy," said Daniella.

Dennis stared at her, seemingly in shock.

"You're too sweet to get scrapped. Maybe after whoever Lady brings back—" she sighed, "hopefully fixes my brother, they can fix you up too,"

"You—You'd do that for me? Really?" Dennis said, feeling elated.

"I like you, Dennis. I really do, and I've always wanted to be able to save someone who gets sent here, give 'em another chance," Daniella paused, looking at him intently for a moment before saying, "You have beautiful eyes, you know that? Reminds me of the night sky." At that, Daniella backed away and left him there with Diesel 10.

"Wow," Dennis whispered to himself.

As Daniella made her rounds, she noticed that Paul and Madison were unusually quiet. "What's the matter?" she asked.

"Alan," Paul said quietly.

A quick glance at Alan confirmed Daniella's suspicions, he was gone. Without saying a word, Daniella moved him away from his companions. After losing Phoenix, he had gone much too soon.

A short while later, Lady returned, pulling an old coach behind her. Daniella was surprised to see her back so soon.

"I warned the engines that the Fat Controller was planning on having some of them scrapped. The crews at the Dieselworks aren't happy with what was done to Diesel 10 and they agreed to help, but there's one problem," said Lady.

"What's that?" Daniella asked.

"Diesel 10 needs some parts replaced, and there were no spare parts ordered for him," said Lady.

Lorelei poked her head out the window of Daniella's cab. "This is a scrapyard, honey. There's spare parts everywhere. Use what you need, so long as you don't harm anyone that's still alive," she said.

Lady brought the workmen to Diesel 10, and soon enough, his repairs were underway. Daniella had asked if they could try to fix Dennis once they were done and to her surprise, they agreed to do whatever they could.

When Diesel 10 woke up, he was very surprised to see Lady again. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Saving your life," Lady replied.

Diesel 10 looked at her bewildered.

"That fat fuck wants to have some of his engines scrapped, an' Lady here thinks it's fucked up what he did to you," said Daniella.

Diesel 10 fumed. "So he DOES want to have all of the diesels scrapped! I knew it! He always favored those stinky steam—"

"AHEM," Lady interrupted, "Let's not jump to conclusions, for all we know, he could be wanting to get rid of a few steam engines too,"

"Diesel 10 is right," Lorelei said in a dangerously calm voice, and everyone looked at her. "Sir Fatham Fatt had left a voicemail that I failed to notice. Why don't you listen for yourself?"

Lorelei turned the volume up on her phone and played back the massage that was left for her. What had been left on her voicemail was chilling:

"Hello, Miss Lorelei! This is Sir Topham Hatt of the North Western railway, and I'm looking to switch over to an all steam fleet. Since you've already taken one particularly troublesome engine off my hands, I'd like to propose an offer. You can have every last one of these useless diesels, even if you only pay me a fraction of what they're worth. I understand that you have a policy stating that you only accept engines that are beyond repair, and if you're not willing to make an exception, I can...make arrangements to have them conform to that policy."

"I _told_ you," Diesel 10 hissed at Lady.

"Oh my…oh, this is terrible!" said Lady.

"That motherfucker! He's gonna have 'em all killed!" Daniella exclaimed.

"I won't let that happen!" Diesel 10 snapped.

"What can we do though? What Topham is doing is horrible, but they're his engines, and if he wants to dispose of them, he can," said Burnett.

"NO!" Lorelei shouted, glaring daggers at him. "That's the kind of thinking that I HATE! Letting something _horrible_ happen just because it's considered acceptable! We're going to save them no matter _how many fucking rules we break_!"

"Ooooh! I shoulda smashed that fat cunt like a bug when I had the chance!" Daniella growled.

Burnett sighed. "What do you suggest we do then?" he said.

"Get those engines outta there. I'll keep them here, at least they'd all be safe," said Lorelei.

"So we're going to steal the Fat Controller's diesel engines?" Burnett said disbelievingly.

"He doesn't want them anyway!" Diesel 10 snapped.

"He's gonna send 'em all here anyway! An' I'd rather see 'em here in one piece!" said Daniella.

"They're right, Burnett," said Lady.

Burnett sighed. "Fine," he said, "But I'm starting to think Diesel 10 and his crazy sister have been a bad influence on you."

Once Diesel 10's repairs were complete, they would have been ready to leave for Sodor, but there was one little problem: Diesel 10 didn't have a driver. Fortunately, Lady had a solution to that. Unfortunately, that solution was Mr. Conductor.

Daniella stared in shock as the man appeared before them, pointing rather rudely at him with her claw. "What—the—fuck?!" she exclaimed, "How did you just get here?!"

"Magic, my dear— _holy crap you're scary_!" Mr. Conductor said as he jumped backwards upon seeing her.

"Don't worry, she's on our side," Lady assured him.

"Right," Mr. Conductor said rather nervously, "I understand there's a dire emergency, and an engine that needs a driver immediately?"

"Behind you, twinkletoes," said Diesel 10.

"Diesel 10!" Mr. Conductor exclaimed, startling at his voice and turning around very quickly. "What are _you_ doing here?!"

"He needs a driver," said Lady.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me," said Mr. Conductor.

"I'll explain on the way there, but we need to hurry," said Lady.

"I hope you have a good explanation for _this_!" Mr. Conductor said, gesturing at Diesel 10.

"I don't want you driving me, either!" Diesel 10 said indignantly. He grumbled as Mr. Conductor reluctantly walked over to him.

"Be careful, Daniella," said Dennis.

"Don't worry about me, I'll be just fine," said Daniella. She soon headed for the gates, followed by Lady, and finally Diesel 10.

At the Dieselworks, Diesel was sitting and grumbling that he hadn't been assigned any jobs since his last encounter with Daniella. Normally, Diesel wouldn't complain about getting a break, but he wasn't the only one who hadn't been assigned any work lately. As a matter of fact, none of the diesels were being given much to do.

Dart groaned at Diesel's complaining. "Will you quit jumping to conclusions? Just because we haven't had much work lately doesn't mean anything really bad is going to happen!" he said.

"I beg to differ," came a familiar voice. Den, Dart, and Diesel looked up and saw Diesel 10, along with Daniella and Lady.

Diesel groaned upon seeing Daniella. "Oh, not you again!" he grumbled.

"Diesel 10, what are you doing back?" said Den.

"I need you all to go to the scrapyard, pronto!" said Daniella.

Den, Dart, and Diesel gasped.

"Um…no, I don't think so," said Den.

"Listen to her!" Diesel 10 snapped, "It's to save your lives!"

"What?! And get crushed by her claw again?!" Diesel exclaimed.

"You're outta your mind, Diesel 10!" said Dart.

"You did _what_?!" Diesel 10 said, giving his sister a dirty look.

"Hehe…oopsie! Sorry about that!" Daniella said sheepishly.

Lorelei leaned out of Daniella's cab. "This is why you need to get outta here," she said, and played back the same message that had been left on her voicemail earlier.

Den and Dart were stunned. Diesel, on the other hand, wasn't surprised at all. "I _knew_ it! He _is_ getting rid of us! I _told_ you all! Why else would he have let _her_ loose on Sodor in the first place?" He said, glaring at Daniella.

"Oh dear…you were right all along, Diesel. I think Topham was hoping that Daniella would…get rid of some of you during her first visit," said Lady.

"Yes, but he didn't expect her to be on our side," said Diesel 10.

"I think maybe we should…um…" Den trailed off.

"Get out of here?!" Dart finished for him.

Just then, Paxton rushed in. "Guys! The bridge to the mainland has been raised, and they won't lower it!" he said.

"What?! Why not?!" said Diesel 10.

"Something about the Reaper being here to finish us all off!" said Paxton.

"WHAT?!" Daniella shouted, "Oh, HELL NO! I won't do it! If that fat fucker wants me to scrap all of y'all you go tell him I REFUSE!"

"Um, alright, I'll do that," Paxton said as he left.

"Be careful!" Diesel 10 called after him.

"Now what do we do? We're trapped here!" said Diesel.

"Change of plans! We let everyone know what the fat cunt is up to and we strip him of his authority!" said Lorelei.

"But how?" said Diesel.

"Who will be our controller?" said Dart.

"Your controller turned his back on his engines! In the worst way possible! You have no reason to listen to him anymore—you know what, fine! If you must take orders from someone, take 'em from me! I'll take over this railway! I'll be your controller!" Lorelei said, frustrated.

"That's a great idea, Lorelei, but there's one major problem: How are we gonna get everyone to listen to you when _everyone fucking runs from me_?!" said Daniella.

"They'll listen to me," said Lady, "I'll go spread the word.

As Lady was rushing around and telling everyone she could about the Fat Controller's betrayal, the Fat Controller himself was already beginning to carry out his plans. When Paxton had told him that Daniella had refused to scrap any of the diesels the Fat Controller had told him he'd just have to make other arrangements. By "other arrangements" he meant having them destroyed some other way. After all, he knew that Lorelei wouldn't turn down an unserviceable engine. As he made a phone call to the Ironworks manager, Spencer had coupled up to Paxton.

"Spencer! What are you doing?!" Paxton exclaimed.

"Oh, you'll find out. Special job. My crew's getting paid quite handsomely for this, so I'm not complaining," said Spencer.

"Excellent work, Spencer," the Fat Controller said as he stepped out of his office and climbed into Spencer's cab.

"You're in for a surprise, Paxton," Spencer said with a smirk, as he started off.

"Oh, I like surprises," said Paxton.

"Yes, yes, close your eyes and don't open them 'til I say so," said Spencer.

Paxton, being gullible and naïve, did just that. Soon, Spencer stopped and was uncoupled from him, and Paxton found himself being lifted into the air, and then dropped rather roughly. Opening his eyes, Paxton found himself being chained to a flatbed. He was at the Sodor Smelters, and to his horror, the Fat Controller was supervising a few men, all of whom were equipped with cutters' torches.

Paxton gasped as the men approached him.

"Well, Paxton, since the Grim Reaper refused to do her job, I've made other arrangements. I'll be killing three birds with one stone, or perhaps I should say, two diesels with a bunch of stones, and one with the cutters' torch," the Fat controller said.

Paxton let out another gasp as Spencer was coupled up to the flatbed he was on, and a truck full of scrap was coupled behind him. They weren't going anywhere at the moment, and Paxton didn't know why. He didn't _want_ to know why, but he was about to find out.

As the men with the blowtorches closed in on him, Paxton screamed in terror, hoping that someone, _anyone_ , would hear him.


	8. Chapter 8

Daniella and Diesel 10 were still waiting at the Dieselworks for Lady to return, when Percy puffed in, towing a flatbed with Mavis on it. Both Percy and Mavis looked very upset, which was alarming to Den, Dart, and Diesel 10.

"There's been a rockslide at the quarry. Arry and Bert are still there…Bert's been crushed," said Mavis.

"Oh no," said Diesel.

"The quarry manager refused to let us get help…Fat Controller's orders," Percy said glumly.

"That motherfucker!" Daniella snapped. "I'll go see what I can do. Diesel 10, you go find Paxton. He hasn't come back yet, and I'm pretty sure that rockslide was no accident!"

Diesel 10 was horrified, for Daniella was most likely right about that. He rushed out after his sister. "Where do you think he is?" he asked.

"I'd check the smelters. It's awful fishy that the Ironworks twins were conveniently in an 'accident' at the quarry while Paxton still ain't back at Vicarstown," said Daniella.

Diesel 10 let out a gasp. If Daniella was right about Paxton being at the smelters, he might already be gone. Hoping he wasn't too late, Diesel 10 rushed off to the Ironworks, while Daniella continued on to the quarry.

When Daniella reached the quarry, she was greeted by a horrible sight. There had indeed been a major rockslide, and Bert was trapped underneath the rubble, with only his front end sticking out. Even the troublesome trucks were staring in shocked silence, and Arry was begging the manager to call for help.

"Sorry, no can do," the manager replied, "Fat Controller's orders—hey! HEY! What do you think you're doing?!" he exclaimed as Daniella began to lift the rocks off of Bert. "You can't do that! You're not even supposed to be here!" he scolded.

"Drop! Dead!" Daniella snapped as she flung a small boulder at the offending human, who scrambled for safety as more large rocks were hurled in his direction. She continued to clear away the debris, flinging it at anyone who dared interfere, until Bert was finally uncovered. However, Daniella could now see the severity of the damage. Bert's frame had been bent so badly, he had nearly broken in half. Daniella could only watch as his half-lidded eyes rolled back, and his face went completely slack and still.

"Bert? Say something!" said Arry.

As Daniella looked over to Arry, she could hear the desperation in his voice as he continued to call out to his brother, his twin. She could feel an unbridled rage building inside of her. She was certain this was no accident; this was deliberate. A set of twins had been ripped apart, separated forever. Daniella was all too familiar with how badly that could affect the surviving twin.

"Bert, please answer me!" Arry said desperately.

"He's gone," Daniella said, barely holding back her anger.

"N-no…" Arry choked out, "he can't be,"

"Get back to the Dieselworks, I'll take care of this," Daniella hissed.

"B-but—" Arry stammered.

"Go, NOW!" Daniella snapped, no longer able to conceal her rage. "I will find that fat bastard AND I WILL END HIM!"

At that, Arry scurried off as quickly as he could, knowing very well that things were about to get ugly.

Daniella let loose an enraged shriek, reversing quickly and bashing a line of trucks straight off the tracks. "OUT OF MY FUCKING WAY!" she roared as she continued to bash the trucks to pieces so that she could get out. To her surprise, Lorelei wasn't holding her back. As a matter of fact, Lorelei was almost as angry as Daniella was at the time.

Diesel 10, on the other hand, had seen Paxton being very slowly cut up at the smelters, and he was _pissed_.

Realizing that Diesel 10 wasn't going to hold back, the Fat Controller climbed aboard Spencer and fled with Paxton in tow, but not before Diesel 10 could land a blow to Spencer's boiler with his claw.

Spencer rushed past Daniella as she was switched onto the mainline, followed by a very angry Diesel 10. Daniella followed after them, pickingnup speed. "OH NO YOU DON'T!" she shouted.

"You'll never catch me! I'm much faster than you two!" Spencer boasted.

"That fat fucker killed Bert!" Daniella barked.

This made Diesel 10 even more enraged. "You won't get away with this!" he snapped. As Diesel 10 pulled alongside Spencer, the Fat Controller was shocked to see who was driving him. "Mr. Conductor?!" he sputtered.

"You've turned your back on your engines, Topham! You're not fit to run this railway!" Mr. Conductor shouted.

"We'll see about that!" the Fat Controller said as Spencer sped up. Diesel 10 however, managed to land another blow on him.

"Ouch!" Spencer exclaimed, "Nasty diesel!" he muttered.

"They're headed for the Other Railway!" Diesel 10 shouted.

"Oh, HELL NO!" Daniella shouted.

"Faster, Spencer, they're gaining on us!" the Fat Controller ordered, and Spencer continued to pick up speed. "Raise the bridge after we cross!" he shouted as they passed the signal house.

Diesel 10 and Daniella continued to chase after them, not giving up despite the fact that Spencer was indeed faster than them. Then, Diesel 10 saw the bridge being raised, and braked hard, but Daniella didn't stop. Instead, she sped up.

"DANI! THE BRIDGE!" Diesel 10 yelled, but his sister didn't listen.

"C'mon, Dani! Let's show 'em what we're made of!" Lorelei encouraged.

Daniella hit the bridge like a ramp. Lorelei shut her eyes and crossed her fingers, hoping like hell this would work. She was jolted around as Daniella landed hard on the other side. By some stroke of luck, she had managed to land on the rails.

"Oof! Hey, we did it!" Daniella exclaimed.

Up ahead, Spencer had slowed down a bit, thinking that he had lost his pursuers. That is, until he heard Daniella's voice: "Hang on, Paxton!"

Paxton looked up in surprise, and saw Daniella quickly catching up. "Hurry, Dani!" he called back.

"But—how?! The bridge was raised!" Spencer said, flabbergasted. He sped up again, straining the couplings on the truck that was behind the flatbed that Paxton was chained to. Upon hitting a bump, the couplings snapped, and the truck and its cargo were sent flying backwards. Debris hit Daniella's face, catching onto the bars that held it together and violently ripping them out. Daniella let out a scream of agony as the metal bars came loose and tore through her already mangled face.

"Daniella!" Lorelei exclaimed.

"Keep going! We can't stop now!" Daniella said in an anguished voice.

A bit reluctantly, Lorelei continued to push her engine to her limits. Regaining speed, they quickly caught up.

Paxton gasped at the sight of Daniella. Ugly gashes had been torn through her face, and chunks of it had fallen off. Her eye patch had come off too, leaving the gaping, empty socket in plain view. Yet, despite her injuries, she pressed on. Once she had gotten close enough, she slammed her claw into the flatbed with such force that the prongs pierced right into it. Braking hard, the other couplings snapped, sending Spencer flying off the rails and into a ditch. The silver engine's already damaged boiler exploded, killing him and everyone on board.

"Whew…I did it," Daniella said tiredly. She gave Paxton a brief smile before losing consciousness.

The next thing Daniella was aware of was her brother in front of her, and her driver perched on her buffers. Both of them looked very worried and upset.

"Oh good, you're awake," Diesel 10 said, sounding somewhat relieved. "You're going to be alright," he tried to assure her.

"No," Daniella said quietly.

"Don't say that, Dani. You're going to be fine," said Diesel 10.

"Promise me," Daniella said, "Promise me you won't lose your mind over me, like you did with Daniel,"

"Dani, don't talk like that," said Diesel 10.

"You'll have to take my place…I trust you with that," Daniella said, her voice growing quieter.

"Dani, no!" Diesel 10 protested.

"Just promise me, please, you'll do that for me and you won't lose your mind," Daniella said weakly.

"Ok…I promise," Diesel 10 said reluctantly, and Daniella smiled a little.

"You finally got what you always wanted. You made a difference in the world and you saved one of the scrapyard engines. You did good, Dani. You've been wonderful," said Lorelei.

"Stay with me, Dani, hold on please! I—I don't want to lose you! You've got to hold on," Diesel 10 pleaded.

"I'll always be with you," Daniella said, her voice barely a whisper. With no more strength to speak, she shut her eye. Her life was complete, she could finally rest now.

"Daniella?" Diesel 10 said, but got no reply. "Dani? No…Dani…no," he choked out, unable to maintain his composure. He had been horrified when Daniella was brought back; the sight of her badly damaged face had nearly made him feel ill. Now, she was gone, and he truly was the last of his kind.

"It's not fair! She saved my life! Why couldn't I do the same for her?" said Diesel 10.

"Life's not fair," Lorelei told him as she climbed into his cab. "Remember what she told you, sometimes bad stuff happens,"

Unable to look at what remained of his sister any longer, Diesel 10 headed for the Other Railway.

Madison and Paul perked up when they heard the gates open. "Dani's back!" Madison said. However, instead of seeing Daniella, they saw a dejected Diesel 10. Everyone was surprised to see him back; after all, he had been repaired.

"Where's Daniella?" Paul asked, only to get a forlorn look from Diesel 10. "Dani's gone," he said sadly.

The broken engines let out a collective gasp. Surely he couldn't mean _that_.

"What's going to happen to us now?" Madison asked worriedly. The others shared her sentiment. Daniella had been their guardian, never allowing any more harm to come to them. She had constantly gone out of her way for them, and had made their stay in the scrapyard at the very least, bearable.

Finally, Lorelei spoke: "I'm still in charge here, so you guys have nothing to worry about. Thing is, I'm gonna be a lot busier since I'm also in charge of the railway this guy is from," she said, patting Diesel 10's side.

That night, Diesel 10 sat right outside the open gates. Lorelei watched from his cab as he used his claw to fit bits of scrap metal together, some of which he was putting atop the arch that was behind the gates. He was surprisingly nimble with his claw; something Lorelei hadn't expected.

"What are you doing?" Lorelei asked him, but Diesel 10 didn't answer her. "You can tell me, you know I'm not gonna stop you from doing whatever you're doing,"

Diesel 10 still didn't answer her, so Lorelei decided to leave him be and let him continue what he was doing. Exhausted, Lorelei soon fell asleep. When she woke up, she let out a gasp, for perched atop the arch was an angel made of metal, facing outside to greet anyone who went in.

"What do you think?" Diesel 10 asked her.

"It's perfect," Lorelei said as tears stung her eyes. Now, Daniella would never be forgotten. Not only that, but she wouldn't be remembered as the monster she never was. No, she would be remembered as the angel of the scrapyard.


End file.
